Brief trauma intervention with Rwandan genocide-survivors using thought field therapy

Abstract

This randomized waitlist control study examined the efficacy of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) in reducing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Participants included 145 adult genocide survivors randomly assigned to an immediate TFT treatment group or a waitlist control group. Group differences adjusted for pretest scores and repeated measures anovas were statistically significant at p < .001 for 9 of 10 TSI trauma subscales and for both severity and frequency on the MPSS, with moderate to large effect sizes. Reduced trauma symptoms for the group receiving TFT were found for all scales. Reductions in trauma symptoms were sustained at a 2-year follow-up assessment. Limitations, clinical implications, and future research are discussed.