Table 3 TI-MBCT intervention overview

Brief name

Trauma informed mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (TI-MBCT) [58, 59]

Why

TI-MBCT addresses the patterns of avoidance, re-experiencing, and reactivity characteristic of people who have experienced DVA with PTSD through the gradual development of skills for managing overwhelm and developing skills for “decentering” from distress

What

The manual, mindfulness practices and exercises for TI-MBCT will be developed through the intervention refinement process.

Who provided

An experienced mindfulness teacher with expertise in trauma, who is in supervision with a mindfulness-based supervisor with expertise in trauma.

How

TI-MBCT delivered in face-to-face groups of up to nine participants

Where

A site will be selected which is safe and convenient for both participants and the therapist (e.g., community centre).

When and how much

Once a week for eight weeks participants will attend a 2-h session and conduct 45 min of guided home practice.

Tailoring

The intervention will be refined to meet the needs of women with DVA trauma with a particular emphasis on establishing a sense of safety from which to turn towards challenging experiences.

Modifications

TI-MBCT will be refined during the study based on evidence synthesis from

1. A literature review on trauma-sensitive adaptations of mindfulness-based interventions

2. Qualitative interviews with women who have experienced DVA (including feasibility trial participants) and professional stakeholders

3. Consensus exercise with “experts by experience” of delivering mindfulness-based interventions to participants who have experienced trauma.

How well

 Planned

 Actual

Therapists’ records will be analysed to measure intervention uptake, retention and dose received.

Home practice records completed by participants will be analysed to measure dose received.

A standard tool for assessing fidelity of a mindfulness-based intervention [60] will be adapted to the TI-MBCT course and tested in the feasibility trial.