Trauma Therapy. Care Situation, Barriers, and Facilitating Factors of Trauma-Specific Treatment Utilization

Background: Many traumatized patients do not receive specific psychotherapy.Objective: We aimed to investigate the care situation of traumatized patients and the barriers and motivational factors for seeking trauma therapy.Method: A total of 104 traumatized adults who were seeking treatment participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire and were evaluated through content analysis.Results: On average, patients had been searching for trauma-specific therapy for 13.47 months (SD = 33.88), 39 % had contacted more than four places. Overall, 56.5 % mentioned the lack of therapy places and 30.6 % the waiting times as barriers. Enabling factors included the evaluated need and symptom burden. Treatment expectations included the hope for symptom reduction, improvements in relationships and quality of life, and a desire to process trauma; 63.3 % desired an accepting and understanding therapist. Conclusion: There are barriers to seeking trauma therapy, particularly with regard to available treatment slots. Clinical implications are discussed.