Clinical trial NCT07010861: Effects of Expressive Art Therapy Applied to Earthquake Victims Who Have Experienced Loss
Official title: Effects of Expressive Art Therapy Applied to Earthquake Victims Who Have Experienced Loss on Psychological Symptoms and Post-Traumatic Growth: A Randomized Controlled Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Earthquake Victims
Keywords: Expressive Art Therapy
Earthquake Victims
Psychological Symptoms
Post-Traumatic Growth
Lead sponsor: Gazi University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-06-08
Enrollment: 42
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: This study is a randomized controlled intervention type study with a pre-test - post-test and follow-up, which is one of the quantitative research methods.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Earthquakes can negatively affect individuals' mental health by creating serious traumatic effects on individual and societal levels. Traumatic experiences such as losing one's home or workplace, being injured, or losing a loved one cause individuals to develop long-term psychological symptoms. In this context, strengthening psychosocial support programs aimed at coping with psychological and social problems after an earthquake is of great importance. In this study, the effect of expressive art therapy applied to individuals who experienced losses due to the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on psychological symptoms and post-traumatic growth was examined.

Detailed description: A randomized controlled intervention design with pre-test-post-follow-up measurements was used, which is one of the quantitative research methods. In line with the power analysis, a total of 42 participants, 21 in each group, constituted the research sample. The distribution of participants to the intervention and control groups was made with stratified block randomization. The inclusion criteria of the study included being 18 years of age or older, knowing Turkish, and having experienced material and moral loss due to the earthquake; while the exclusion criteria were mental illness or receiving active psychosocial support. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Post-Traumatic Growth Scale (PTS) were used as data collection tools. The intervention process includes a six-session expressive arts therapy program. The scales will be administered online at pre-test, post-test and two-month follow-up. Data will be evaluated with repeated measures and two-way variance analyses. It is expected that this study will contribute to post-traumatic recovery processes and art-based psychosocial interventions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Being 18 years of age or older,
* Being able to understand, speak and write Turkish,
* Having directly experienced the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, -
* Having experienced material and moral losses due to the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş

Exclusion Criteria:

* Having a neurological disorder that prevents communication,
* Actively receiving any psychosocial support/counseling

Primary outcomes:
measure: Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)
timeFrame: Change from baseline to 6 weeks (also assessed at 14 weeks post-baseline)
measure: Post-Traumatic Growth Scale (PTGS)
timeFrame: Change from baseline to 6 weeks (also assessed at 14 weeks post-baseline)
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ankara
country: Turkey
facility: Gazi University
state: Çankaya
Study officials:
References: