Narrative therapy online intervention improves post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression in nurses: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Clinical nurses have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression, which seriously affect their physical and mental health. Narrative therapy (NT), a therapy for trauma-related psychological disorders, may be an effective intervention.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of NT on improving PTSD symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety and depression in nurses.

Methods: A total of 92 participants who were clinical nurses and had positive PTSD symptom screening results were randomly assigned (1:1) to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received NT and a psychological stress leaflet, while the control group received only a psychological stress leaflet. PTSD, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression were measured before and after the intervention to assess the effect of NT.

Results: After the intervention, the intervention group showed significantly lower levels of PTSD symptoms (P=0.025), perceived stress (P=0.033), anxiety (P=0.004), and depression (P=0.015) compared with the control group. Regarding the dichotomous outcomes of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of positive cases of PTSD (P=0.030) and anxiety (P=0.002), while there was no statistically significant change in the number of positive cases of depression (P=0.060).

Conclusions: NT is expected to alleviate PTSD symptoms, stress, anxiety, and depression among clinical frontline nurses, and healthcare professionals should consider applying NT to improve nurses' mental health.