Finding the golden lining Assessment, self-help and treatment after trauma

Confrontation with potentially traumatic events, such as physical violence or witnessing someone who is seriously injured, can have a profound impact on people’s lives. The overall objective of this thesis was to empower people who are exposed to potential traumatic events.
First, we developed and investigated tools that facilitate the (self) assessment of mental health after traumatic events (Part I). This resulted in a reliable scale to measure psychological resilience and a valid mobile app to screen for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Second, we examined self-help interventions to empower trauma-exposed individuals and help them self-manage trauma-related symptoms (Part II). A randomized controlled trial showed that a self-help app was effective in reducing trauma-related cognitions and increasing psychological resilience in trauma-exposed individuals with mild PTSD symptoms.
Finally, we aimed at gaining a better understanding of clinical populations with PTSD and PTSD treatment outcomes (Part III). Results pointed at the importance of paying attention to the accumulation of exposure to traumatic events and to (individual) residual PTSD symptoms and their potential predictors in clinical populations.
In sum, this thesis demonstrated that mobile apps may help facilitate (self) assessment of trauma-related symptoms, and may offer easy-accessible self-help to manage these symptoms. Also, focusing on positive outcomes and factors, such as posttraumatic growth and psychological resilience, and their association with psychopathology post PTSD treatment deepen our understanding of treatment effectiveness and underlying mechanisms in thriving after trauma.
In all, this thesis provides new insights into opportunities for empowering trauma-exposed individuals regarding (self) assessment, self-help and formal treatment after trauma.