Veteran’s experiences of trauma-focused therapies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Veterans' experiences of trauma-focused therapies: a reflexive thematic analysis
IRAS ID
355853
Contact name
Jessica Elliott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Roehampton
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most reported mental health difficulty for help-seeking veterans (Murphy et al., 2019). International guidelines endorse trauma-focused therapies (TF-T) as first line of treatment for PTSD (NICE, 2018). Research evaluating TF-T with veterans indicate high rates of dropout, continued symptomatic distress following TF-T, and veterans have poorer outcomes compared to other trauma populations following TF-T (Steenkamp, 2015).
The proposed study aims to explore veteran’s experiences of trauma-focused therapies to contribute towards an in-depth understanding of TF-T. This study addresses the gap in the research of TF-T from veteran’s perspectives, particularly in the UK. This study considers the influence of veteran’s psychological and social world, as well as the subjective experiences of receiving treatment. The veteran population is characterised by several factors which influence the development and nature of PTSD which have a bearing on how veterans respond to treatment (Forbes et al., 2019), and a military culture that is noted to negatively affect treatment engagement such as masculine ideals of stoicism and stigma (Williamson et al., 2024).
The study’s objectives are to explore what aspects of TF-T were experienced by veterans as helpful and unhelpful and how these experiences were navigated. Reflexive thematic analysis will be the method of analysis to capture and explain experiences of TF-T that reflect veteran’s goals and preferences, as well as aspects of treatment related to improvement. The findings seek to provide rich data to increase the field’s understanding of TF-T which could inform clinical practice and improve therapeutic outcomes (Sandelowski & Leeman, 2012), as well as help bridge the gap between theory and practice.
The researcher will aim to recruit 6-10 veterans who have completed TF-T at an NHS veteran’s mental health service that are willing to discuss their experiences of treatment in a semi-structured interview with the researcher.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EE/0217
Date of REC Opinion
21 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion