Clinical Scorecard: A Concise Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach Incorporating Religious Elements for Managing Acute Stress Disorder Following the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake in Türkiye: A Case Series

At a Glance

Key Highlights

• ASD is characterized by intrusive memories, avoidance, negative affect, and hyperarousal occurring within one month post-trauma.
• Religiously integrated CBT (RCBT) adapts standard CBT to align with clients’ religious beliefs, enhancing coping and symptom reduction.
• Brief, culturally and religiously tailored interventions are critical for early trauma recovery but remain scarce in disaster contexts.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

• Identify ASD based on DSM-5 criteria: symptoms persisting between 3 days and 1 month post-trauma.
• Early identification of ASD is essential to evaluate PTSD risk and guide timely intervention.

Management

• Implement brief CBT protocols (5–6 sessions) adapted to cultural and religious contexts for ASD treatment.
• Incorporate religious meaning-making, faith-based behavioral strategies, and spiritual support into therapy.
• Use psychoeducation and behavioral strategies tailored to survivors’ religious beliefs to stabilize early symptoms.

Monitoring & Follow-up

• Monitor symptom progression from ASD to potential PTSD over 3 to 6 months post-trauma.
• Assess changes in religious coping styles and their impact on psychological outcomes.

Risks

• Negative religious coping may exacerbate PTSD symptoms and hinder recovery.
• Delayed or absent early intervention increases risk of ASD progressing to chronic PTSD.

Patient & Prescribing Data

64 earthquake survivors from 11 provinces in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, predominantly female (93.8%), aged 12–57 years.

Brief religiously adapted CBT showed promise in early symptom stabilization and may reduce progression to PTSD.

Clinical Best Practices

• Adapt CBT protocols to incorporate clients’ religious and spiritual beliefs for enhanced engagement and efficacy.
• Deliver brief interventions promptly in the acute phase post-disaster to address ASD symptoms.
• Provide psychoeducation that integrates religious frameworks to support meaning-making and coping.
• Evaluate religious coping styles to tailor interventions and mitigate negative religious coping effects.

References

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.)
• Işık and Toprak case study on religious reframing
• Islamic Trauma Healing Intervention
• de Abreu Costa and Moreira-Almeida on religion-adapted interventions