In July 2024, the Foundation for Self Leadership announced that the findings from a second Foundation-funded study were published in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, the American Psychological Association’s leading trauma specialty journal.
Below is an excerpt from the Foundation's announcement:
The article is co-authored by a team led by Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD and includes contributions from Alexandra Comeau, MA, Lia J. Smith, PhD, Lydia Smith, BS, Hanna Soumerai Rea, MA, Mary Catherine Ward, MA, Timothy B. Creedon, PhD, Martha Sweezy, PhD, and Lawrence G. Rosenberg, PhD. The research was conducted at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, part of the Cambridge Health Alliance healthcare system, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital.
The study, a proof-of-concept, single-arm, stage 1 behavioral health study, sought to assess the feasibility, within a public community healthcare system, of delivering an online group-based trauma treatment (PARTS) utilizing the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach for patients with PTSD. The results indicated that the PARTS intervention was well attended, helpful, acceptable, and significantly effective in reducing clinical symptoms.
Abstract
Objective: Demand for trauma-focused therapy continues to increase, especially in community mental health care settings where group treatment models can be cost-effective and increase access to care. The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may offer an effective therapeutic approach. The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, trauma-focused, group-based treatment approach and investigate potential mechanisms of action. Method:Study participants completed the Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS), an online-delivered program including 16 weeks of 90-min IFS-based groups with eight 50-min individual IFS counseling sessions. Participants completed assessments including clinician-administered and self-report measures of PTSD, common comorbid conditions (e.g., complex PTSD [disturbances in self-organization], depression, anxiety, and suicidality), and potential mechanisms (e.g., decentering, self-compassion, and emotion regulation). Results: Most participants (n = 11/15; 73%) attended 12+ group sessions, with 92% (12/13 responders) reporting they would recommend PARTS to a friend. All respondents reported the program was helpful (13/13; 100%). PTSD symptom severity was reduced from baseline to Weeks 16 (d = −0.7, p = .005) and 24 (d = −0.9, p < .001). A clinically meaningful response (i.e., 10+ point reduction on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [5th ed.]) was demonstrated in 53% of participants (8/15) by Week 24. Decentering, self-compassion, and emotion regulation all improved (p < .05). Conclusions: PARTS was feasible and acceptable as a group-based, online intervention in an urban, public community health care system. While PARTS showed promise in reducing overall PTSD symptom severity, well-controlled efficacy research is needed.
The full study can be found here: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-98110-001.html
Supplemental materials about IFS mechanisms and study details can be found here: https://supp.apa.org/psycarticles/supplemental/tra0001688/tra0001688_supp.html