Lichtgedanken 03

S C HW E R P U N K T 23 03 | LICHT GEDANKEN IT specialist who administers the portal. In Berlin, we collaborate with Prof. Dr Christine Knaevelsrud, and two other therapists from the Freie Universität. They are responsible for the therapeu- tic part—they read the texts and give their feedback to the participants. Ha- ving applied the Internet-based wri- ting therapy for treatment of traumatic experiences of refugees and of soldiers or persons traumatized in World War II, they contribute their expertise to the project. What do the participants write about? Gawlytta: The first three texts have a bio- graphical focus. The participants write about their childhood, their youth, and their life before the disease. In the fol- lowing four texts, they are supposed to reflect on their experiences at the inten- sive care unit and to describe their me- mories and their fears concerning the in- tensive care as detailed as possible. The last three texts shall give the patient the chance to think about the experiences from another point of view. They should not consider themselves as victims any- more since they have already overcome the disease, they are not helplessly ex- posed to the situation anymore, and can deal with their future expectations. Rosendahl: Apart from these texts, the partners write a letter to the affected partner in which they should find some comforting and sympathetic words regarding the past and current strain. Moreover, they should point out their belief in the partner’s abilities and com- petencies. The letter is completely con- fidential and the therapists do not read it. If both partners participate in the the- rapy, they have to write letters to each other. Have you received any feedback from the participants, yet? Gawlytta: Yes, we have. After the treat- ment had been completed, I called the participants for a diagnostic interview. Although some of them were sceptical before starting the treatment, their feed- back is positive without exceptions. They are glad that they had taken part in the project. They do not have as many nightmares and flashbacks as before. And even if some occur, they can cope with them in a different way. You carry out diagnostic telephone in- terviews to find out suitable candida- tes. Who cannot participate in the pro- ject »zwei leben«? Rosendahl: Unfortunately, all who do not have a partner—our study focuses on couples. Gawlytta: Everyone who is undergoing a psychotherapeutic treatment elsewhe- PD Dr Jenny Rosendahl (right) and Romina Gawlytta, psychologists from the Institute of Psychosocial Medi- cine and Psychotherapy at the Jena University Hospital. re cannot take part in our study. Other- wise we cannot measure the success of our offer. Apart from those, neither per- sons addicted to medication or alcohol nor those with suicidal tendencies can participate. Of course, we do support those persons in finding an appropriate therapy for them. However, sepsis is not an exclusive criterion. As a result, also someone who underwent intensive care because of other reasons may participa- te in the study. What will happen next? Rosendahl: We will have been recruiting participants until the summer 2018. Our aim is to include 70 couples in total. Up to now, 14 couples have already begun their treatment or completed it. We would thus welcome any further pati- ents. At the beginning of 2019, the study will have been completed. When we are able to prove the efficacy, we would like to continue the project. We are comple- tely sure that the persons affected do be- nefit from the therapy. How might the project »zwei leben« evolve in the long term? Rosendahl: For example, we might of- fer our treatment to individuals so that singles or people whose partner died of sepsis could attend it, too. I can also imagine internationalizing the project. F E AT U R E