[Outpatient group therapy for emotion management in complex posttraumatic disorders]

Area of Science:

• Psychology and Psychiatry
• Trauma-Informed Care
• Neurobiology of Stress

Context:

• Complex mental disorders often involve difficulties with emotion and impulse regulation, frequently stemming from childhood trauma.
• Phase-oriented trauma therapy prioritizes stabilization and arousal control.
• While inpatient settings utilize group therapy for emotion regulation, outpatient facilities rarely offer such "stabilization groups" despite their benefits.

Purpose:

• To introduce and describe a novel outpatient group treatment protocol designed to enhance self-regulatory capabilities.
• To address the gap in outpatient services for emotion regulation skill development in trauma survivors.

Summary:

• The protocol employs a hierarchically structured model of affect regulation strategies, incorporating body-oriented, hypnotherapeutic, and guided imagery interventions.
• It integrates psychoeducation and resource activation, grounded in current neurobiological findings related to traumatic stress.
• Initial data from the first program's implementation is presented for discussion.

Impact:

• Offers a scalable and accessible outpatient intervention for improving emotion regulation in trauma survivors.
• Provides a structured approach to stabilization and arousal control, crucial for complex mental disorders.
• Contributes to the evidence base for effective, neurobiologically informed trauma therapies in community settings.