Feasibility Study of a Culturally Adapted Manual Assisted Brief Psychological Intervention (CMAP) Plus Learning Through Play (LTP) for Refugee Mothers with History of Self-harm in Pakistan

Mental health of refugees particularly mothers living in camps or in conflict areas is one of the most important issues needing special attention and intervention. Culturally adapted Manual Assisted brief Psychological intervention (CMAP) utilizes problem solving components within a brief intervention that can be widely utilized in clinical practice in reducing repetition of self-harm in people who had recently self-harmed. Similarly, LTP programme promotes child health by supporting attuned interaction between mother and child, increasing maternal awareness of the physical and emotional needs of young children, and encouraging nurture and attachment. The CMAP plus LTP intervention may contribute significantly to the evidence base of addressing mental health of refugee mothers. This study aims to evaluate whether CMAP Plus LTP is feasible, acceptable for this population and helpful to reduce the repetition of self-harm and improve child development among refugee mothers with a history of self-harm. Eligible consented participants will complete the baseline assessments using structured questionnaires. Unit of randomization will be the Union Council. Uniion councils have been slected by the research team through consultations with community advisory committees from both sites. Selected UCs will be randomized into two study arms: 1) C-MAP plus LTP added to treatment as usual and 2) Treatment as usual (TAU) alone. Participants in intervention arm will receive 10 individual sessions of CMAP plus LTP intervention for a period of 12 weeks. All sessions will be delivered by female therapists trained in CMAP Plus. Participants in TAU alone group will receive routine care that includes routine follow up by Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Pakistan. Assessments will be carried out at baseline, and completion of the intervention at 12th week (after intervention). All assessments will be rater-blind (done by independent RAs (female), not involved in delivering the intervention sessions). After post-assessments, a purposefully selected subset (stratified by age) of participants will be invited for qualitative interviews (n = up to 15 interviews) to explore their experiences and satisfaction with the intervention. On average, interviews will last for 60-90 minutes.