Effect of the Memory Training for Recovery-Adolescent Intervention vs Treatment as Usual on Psychiatric Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls in Afghanistan: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Adolescents who experience conflict in humanitarian contexts often have high levels of psychiatric distress but rarely have access to evidence-based interventions.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of Memory Training for Recovery-Adolescent (METRA) intervention in improving psychiatric symptoms among adolescent girls in Afghanistan.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized clinical trial included girls and young women aged 11 to 19 years with heightened psychiatric distress living in Kabul, Afghanistan, and was conducted as a parallel-group trial comparing METRA with treatment as usual (TAU), with a 3-month follow-up.

Prevalence of Poor Mental Health Among Adolescents in Kabul, Afghanistan, as of November 2021.

This cross-sectional study assesses the mental health of adolescents in Afghanistan and evaluates their risk of having a psychiatric disorder by age and sex.

Investigating the Feasibility, Acceptability and Efficacy of Using Modified-Written Exposure Therapy in the Aftermath of a Terrorist Attack on Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Afghan Adolescent Girls.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy, acceptability and feasibility of using modified written exposure therapy (m-WET) to treat symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Afghan adolescent girls in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Methods: 120 Afghan (Hazara) adolescent girls who had been exposed to the Sayed al-Shuhada school terrorist attack were randomly assigned to the m-WET ( = 40), trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) ( = 40), or control groups ( = 40). m-WET involved five consecutive daily group sessions where participants simply wrote about the terrorist attack including thoughts and feelings.