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The recording of this webinar will be available later only for ESTD members.
Free Webinar April 9th at 7 pm CET Early Career Research webinar: Optimizing PTSD Treatment: Personalization, Predictors, and Trauma-Sensitive Approaches
Applying machine learning in treatment selection for complex posttraumatic stress disorder
Karine Frost is a clinical psychologist specialized in treatment of complex trauma disorders. She is currently a PhD-candidate at Modum Bad Psychiatric Hospital and the University of Oslo, Norway. Her research is within the field of personalization. She explores possibilities of using machine learning methods as support for clinicians making treatment choices for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD.
Abstract
Research demonstrates that despite the proven effectiveness of several evidence-based treatments, a substantial portion of patients still meet posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis after treatment. The individual variation in treatment outcome remains unsolved, leaving an unharvested potential for improving treatment outcomes by identifying predictors that could help match patients to treatments. There is a growing interest in the use of data-driven approaches to support clinical judgement in treatment selection. The personalized advantage index (PAI) is a machine learning approach which identifies optimal and suboptimal treatment for each individual from pre-treatment variables and calculates the relative advantage of the optimal treatment over the suboptimal treatment.
In this talk I will present preliminary findings from a study using data from a randomized controlled trial on adult patients treated for complex PTSD (CPTSD) to examine predictors of treatment outcome in Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR). Outcome measures were the clinician-administered PTSD scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) and the PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). We identified different outcome predictors for PE and STAIR respectively, which were then used in ensuing PAI analyses. Patients randomized to their optimal treatment according to the PAI improved significantly more than patients randomized to their suboptimal treatment.
Learning objectives:
1) To understand the potential for improving psychotherapy outcome by applying machine learning methods in treatment selection.
2) To learn how the machine learning method personalized advantage index can be applied to identify optimal and suboptimal treatment for patients.
3) Get a demonstration of the personalized advantage index applied in treatment selection for CPTSD.
Applying mindfulness and compassion interventions to heal complex trauma.
Katinka Thorne Salvesen is a clinical psychologist at Modum Bad’s Trauma outpatient clinic in Oslo. She is a certified instructor in “Cultivating Emotional Balance”, a program that provides training in mindfulness-based practices, as well as a MSC (Mindful Self-Compassion). Additionally, she has further education in and expressive arts therapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy and recently the method “deep brain reorienting”. For the past 25 years, she has practiced yoga and mindful awareness. Since 2009, she has taught healthcare professionals about mindful awareness and compassion. Since 2012, she has led groups in trauma-sensitive mindfulness and compassion. She co-authored the book Mindfulness and Compassion: A Path to Growth After Trauma, which offers a treatment program.
Abstract
Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions (MBI`s) have shown promising results in treating trauma and lower dropout rates than trauma-focused interventions. Regardless of the promise, studies have also documented adverse effects. A key factor seems to be that mindfulness and compassion interventions must be trauma informed and adapted to the trauma survivor’s capacity.
In this talk I will present the intervention and findings based on a mixed-methods pilot study aimed to assess the symptomatic changes of post-traumatic stress disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative symptoms, self-critique, and self-compassion following participation in a 16-week trauma-sensitive mindfulness and compassion intervention. A qualitative interview addressing clients’ experiences of participation, including an explicit focus on adverse experiences, will also be presented.
Learning Objectives:
1) To understand the importance of adapting MBI`s and examples of adaptions.
2) To understand the importance of hindrances as part of the journey.
3) To understand some important principles in leading exercises in general.
4) To understand the tremendous stress that clients can experience undergoing trauma treatment.
Expert Mentor: Giovanni Tagliavini, MD, PhD, psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
His main interests are the diagnosis and treatment complex dissociative and posttraumatic disorders, using integrative mind-body approaches.
He has been board member of ESTD (European Society for Trauma and Dissociation) from 2013 to 2015, and he is the past president (2017-2022) of AISTED (Italian Association for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation).
Since 2007 he has been working in the field of trauma training through AreaTrauma, a company founded with his friend and colleague Paola Boldrini (now president of ESTD 2025-2026) and has edited and published many italian translations of relevant books in the field of complex PTSD and dissociative disorders.
The webinar is intended only for professionally occupied with diagnosis, treatment, research or teaching in the field of trauma, dissociation and disorders related to chronic traumatization.