19 June 2026
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has found that people with psychosis experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can benefit from a Trauma-Focused therapy integrated with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (CBTp).
The STAR (Study of Trauma And Recovery) study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) led by researchers at King’s IoPPN and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), recruited 305 participants and is the largest multi-site randomised controlled trial to date of a trauma-focused therapy for people with co-occurring diagnoses of psychosis and PTSD.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is one of five NHS sites involved, along with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Mark Hayward, Director of Research at SPFT, said: "At Sussex Partnership Trust we are committed to conducting research that can improve the care and treatment of people who experience psychosis. The impressive findings from the STAR trial will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the treatments that individuals need to support their recovery journeys. We will be working with our clinicians to ensure that STAR therapy is made available to patients within Sussex."
Professor Emmanuelle Peters, Professor of Clinical Psychology at King’s and the study’s first author said: “It is now clear that trauma-focused therapies can be delivered safely and effectively for people with PTSD and psychosis. Our results are robust in demonstrating that this intervention, which includes working on the trauma memory directly, a focus on engagement, and a flexible approach tailored to the individual, is safe, highly acceptable and effective on a range of PTSD, psychosis, and emotional well-being outcomes.”
Overall participants showed significant improvements in 22 out of 27 assessed outcomes. The primary outcome, PTSD symptom severity, demonstrated a moderate-to-large effect size, with additional effects ranging from large to small across psychosis symptoms (paranoia and multisensory hallucinations), mood disorders (depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation), and psychological recovery.
