More than 200 people with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the 2022 Northern Rivers floods and landslides are to receive support through a clinical trial.
The $3.8 million trial at Southern Cross University is part of the federal government’s $750 million ten-year Clinical Trials Activity Initiative.
It’s one of 26 projects due to have started from March 2024 as part of $62 million approved under the program in 2022.
Researchers say there have been very few clinical trials focused on recovery from disaster-related PTSD and the one at SCU is to be the world’s first based on a stepped care model.
Stepped care is described as an evidence-based system for treating mental health, involving a hierarchy of treatments, from least to most intensive.
The SCU trial is to feature two steps, a five-session arts-based group compassion program as Step One and group-based MDMA-assisted therapy as Step Two where participants still have PTSD.
Invitation to join trial
Responding to the trial’s funding announcement last week, Southern Cross University Lead Researcher Professor Bennett-Levy said the stepped care program had been designed with a self-compassion focus.
Research after the 2017 ex-Cyclone Debbie floods showed mental health problems were compounded if people were self-critical and blamed themselves, Professor James Bennett-Levy said.
Prior research showed MDMA-assisted therapy was an effective evidence-based treatment for PTSD and enhanced self-compassion, the professor said.
State Labor Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin, also the state’s parliamentary secretary for disaster recovery, said she was happy to support the project thanks to the professor’s international reputation for ‘innovative mental health approaches’ and his commitment to the wellbeing or rural Australians, ‘particularly the residents of the Northern Rivers Region’.
Anyone interested in participating in the trial is invited to register their interest by emailing [email protected].
