| FIELD REPORT |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 16
| Issue : 3 | Page : 243-248 |
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The efficacy of memory specificity training in improving symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in bereaved Afghan adolescents
Sayed Jafar Ahmadi1, Mohammad Bagher Kajbaf2, Hamid Taher Neshat Doost2, Tim Dalgleish3, Laura Jobson4, Zeinab Mosavi5
1 PhD, Department of Counseling, Shaheed Rabbani Education University, Kabul, Afghanistan
2 PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
3 Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
4 Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge; University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
5 MA, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence Address:
Sayed Jafar Ahmadi
Department of Counseling, Shaheed Rabbani Education University, Kabul
Afghanistan
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/INTV.INTV_37_18
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The main objective of this study was to study the effectiveness of memory specificity training (MEST) on the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of bereaved Afghan adolescents. Participants were bereaved Afghan adolescents with PTSD and depressive symptomatology and were randomly assigned into the MEST, trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) and a control group. In this study, a quasi-experimental design with pretest–post-test and follow-up with experimental and control groups was used. The instruments used were the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Persian versions of the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, clinical interview and demographic questionnaire. Post-intervention, the MEST and TF-CBT groups had significantly lower levels of PTSD symptoms compared with the control group. There was no significant difference between the MEST and TF-CBT groups. These effects were maintained at 12 weeks. Post-intervention, the MEST and TF-CBT groups also had significantly lower levels of depression symptoms compared with the control group.The findings of this small pilot study suggest that MEST is a promising intervention for the treatment of PTSD and a larger randomized controlled trial is warranted.
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