Group-Based STAIR for Complex Trauma in an NHS Specialist Psychotherapy Service: A Service Evaluation

Brief Report · Open Access

Nicola Forino¹, Tom Carter², Ruth Fyffe-Macleod¹, Dushka Muthiah¹, Catherine West¹ and Dasal Abayaratne¹

¹ Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, England² York St John University, England

Corresponding author: Nicola Forino, nicola.forino@sheffieldpartnership.nhs.uk

Perspectives on Complex Trauma, Volume 7, Issue 1 (2026)

Published: August 2026

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Abstract

This service evaluation examined the outcomes of an 11-week group-based Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) within a tertiary NHS specialist psychotherapy service. STAIR is a phase-based stabilisation intervention designed to enhance emotional regulation and interpersonal functioning in individuals with complex trauma histories. Evidence for group-based STAIR within UK clinical settings remains limited. Using an uncontrolled repeated-measures design, 51 adults with complex trauma histories completed pre- and post-treatment measures of trauma-related symptoms (IES-R), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and quality of life (ReQoL-10). Trauma-related symptoms and depressive symptoms significantly decreased, while quality of life significantly increased. Effect sizes were small for quality of life and depressive symptoms, and medium for trauma-related symptoms. The findings offer preliminary support for group-based STAIR as a stabilisation intervention within NHS psychotherapy services. Due to the uncontrolled design, improvements may not be solely attributable to participating in the STAIR group. These results contribute to the growing literature on phase-based interventions for complex trauma populations.

Keywords: Complex trauma; STAIR; stabilisation; PTSD; CPTSD

Cite this article

Forino, N., Carter, T., Fyffe-Macleod, R., Muthiah, D., West, C., & Abayaratne, D. (2026). Group-based STAIR for complex trauma in an NHS specialist psychotherapy service: A service evaluation. Perspectives on Complex Trauma, 7(1). https://www.complextraumainstitute.org/post/group-based-stair-for-complex-trauma-in-an-nhs-specialist-psychotherapy-service-a-service-evaluatio

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© 2026 The Author(s).

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Published by the Complex Trauma Institute.

ISSN 2635-0807