Prevalence and Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress and Depression Symptoms Among Syrian Refugees in a Refugee Camp.

Turkey is hosting the majority of Syrian refugees. The current study investigates the prevalence of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among adult Syrians residing in a camp (N = 781) and potential predictors. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised was used to measure PTSD and the Beck Depression Inventory depression. Probable PTSD prevalence was 83.4%, with predictors being female sex (odds ratio [OR], 4.1), previous mental health problems (OR, 4.5), life threat (OR, 3.0), and injury of a loved one (OR, 1.8). Probable depression prevalence was 37.4%, with predictors being female sex (OR, 5.1), previous mental health problems (OR, 2.9), having a loved one who was tortured (OR, 1.7), and not being satisfied at the camp (OR, 1.7). The current study reveals high rates of probable PTSD and depression among Syrian refugees and highlights vulnerabilities such as great risk for women of having psychopathology.

Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol EMDR Applied Online for COVID-19-Related Symptoms of Turkish Health Care Workers Diagnosed with COVID-19-Related PTSD: A Pilot Study.

Background: This study investigates the effect of the online Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol on posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and burnout symptoms in healthcare workers diagnosed with pandemic-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Methods: The study included healthcare workers who applied to psychiatry outpatient clinics due to the psychiatric symptoms that developed related to the pandemic and who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The Beck Anxiety Inventory, Impact of Event Scale-Revised to evaluate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (avoidance, intrusion, and hyperarousal), Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory were used for the assessment. The tests were administered 3 times (pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 1-month follow-up). Results: This study included 14 healthcare workers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder; 2 (14.3%) physicians, 2 (14.3%) nurses, 4 (28.6%) other-healthcare workers/medical staff, and 6 (42.8%) other healthcare workers/non-medical staff. There was a significant decrease in Impact of Event Scale-Revised total score, the intrusion and hyper-arousal sub-scores between T1 and T2 (P = .018; P = .005; P = .0005, respectively) and between T1 and T3 (P < .001; P < .001; P < .001, respectively), but there was no difference between T2 and T3 (P = .89). A significant difference was found in repeated measurements of both Beck Depression Inventory [P < .001] and Beck Anxiety Inventory [P < .001] scores. There was a significant difference in emotional exhaustion, one of the subscales of Maslach Burnout Inventory (P = .09). However, there was no significant difference in depersonalization (P = .48) and personal accomplishment (P = .66). Conclusions: Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol appears to be capable of reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, intrusion, and hyperarousal symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and emotional exhaustion when symptoms that developed are related to the pandemic in healthcare workers.

Culturally adapted transdiagnostic CBT for SSRI resistant Turkish adolescents: A pilot study.

The most common mental health problems among adolescents are anxiety and mood disorders. While disorder-specific cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for each of these conditions, the comorbidity between anxiety and mood disorders indicates a need for the development of evidence-based transdiagnostic treatments. To examine the efficacy of culturally adapted transdiagnostic CBT (CA-CBT) in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in treatment-resistant Turkish adolescents, 13 adolescent participants with anxiety or mood disorders who were treatment resistant received 10 sessions of CA-CBT in group format. The main outcome measures were the Screen for Childhood Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Turkish Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (TSSA), which were assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and at 2-month follow-up. At posttreatment, there were large effect sizes for all measures: depression scores (BDI, d = .9), anxiety scores (SCARED, d = 1.1), and the Turkish Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (TSSA, d = 1.6). Moreover, at 2-month follow-up, depression and anxiety symptoms were either maintained or continued to improve such that from pretreatment to follow-up the effect sizes were as follows: depression scores (BDI, d = 1.4), anxiety scores (SCARED, d = 1.7), and the Turkish Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (TSSA, d = 2.4). In addition, there were no dropouts across treatment. This open trial suggests that CA-CBT is effective in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms and that the treatment is well accepted. A full randomized controlled trial to verify the effectiveness of transdiagnostic CA-CBT in similar populations is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).