An Integrated Online Program Using Psychoeducation and Expressive Writing for People With Probable Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Coexisting Dissociative Symptoms

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary effects of an integrated online program with psychoeducation and expressive writing components for people with probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and coexisting dissociative symptoms. Hypotheses to be tested: The program will be feasible, acceptable, and safe to participants. When compared with the waitlist control group, participants in the treatment group will report significantly lower PTSD symptom severity, lower dissociative symptom severity, and greater improvement on coping immediately post-intervention. Design and subjects: An assessor-blind, two-arm, randomised waitlist-controlled pilot study is proposed; 90 community adults with significant PTSD and dissociative symptoms will be recruited. Instruments: The PTSD Checklist 5, Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon, and Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced inventory will be used. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted for process evaluation. Intervention: A 10-week integrated online program with psychoeducational and expressive writing components. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome is PTSD symptom severity. The secondary outcomes are dissociative symptom severity and coping. The feasibility, acceptability, and safety of the program will also be examined. Data analysis: Feasibility and acceptability of the program will be assessed by examining the attrition rate, adherence rate, duration of subject recruitment, and post-program individual interviews. Generalised estimating equations with covariate adjustments will be used to examine the preliminary effects of the program. Expected results: Adults in the community who experienced significant PTSD and dissociative symptoms will become more resourceful to cope with their traumatic experiences and show more improvements on PTSD and dissociative symptoms.