Narrative Exposure Therapy in Patients With Psychotic Disorders and a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Numerous scientific findings point to the influence of stressful childhood experiences and traumatic experiences on the risk of mental and physical illnesses, their severity and their course. Traumatic experiences also increase the risk of demonstrating psychotic symptoms or even develop psychotic disorders. Furthermore, the number of different stress experiences also increases the probability of trauma‐associated symptoms (symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative experiences). Neurobiological changes in the immune system, the defense of stress and also central nervous circuits and structures play a key role in the vulnerability of individuals with early traumas for mental and physical illnesses, e.g. for diseases of the schizophrenic spectrum disorder and the further course of the disease. The recording of stressful and traumatic life experiences has been largely neglected in everyday clinical practice, especially in patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. The diagnosis of PTSD is rarely given in everyday clinical practice, so that trauma‐specific treatment is often not offered. The targeted use of a scientifically proven intervention to reduce the symptoms of PTSD (NET: Narrative Exposure Therapy) involves a change in stress‐associated biomolecular parameters and normalizes neuronal brain activity. The current project pursues a systematic recording of childhood experiences and traumatic experiences possibly experienced as stressful as well as a detailed recording of the course of symptoms in inpatients with psychosis. The researchers want to investigate whether symptom traits of existing psychotic disorders, biomolecular parameters and cognitive functions can be influenced by a trauma‐specific treatment (NET). The current project thus is divided into two work programs: 1. The first work program includes a weekly prospective assessment of psychotic symptoms on a sample of n=100 inpatients and links this data with results from a cross‐sectional review of traumatic and distressing childhood experiences and biological data (cortisol awakening, tonic cortisol concentration in hair and determination of mitochondrial respiratory activity in mononuclear cells). 2. The second work program includes the subgroup of psychotic patients with comorbid PTSD (n=20) and includes a randomized controlled pilot study to determine the impact of trauma therapy (NET) on the course of symptoms. In addition to the symptoms of PTSD, psychosis‐specific parameters such as cognitive functions and biological characteristics will be repeatedly recorded pre and post (6 months and 12 months after completing trauma therapy).