Evaluating Couple HOPES (i.e. Helping Overcome Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Enhancing Satisfaction) within Australian first responders with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and their partners.

Couples will be randomly allocated, using stratified counterbalancing based on occupation (i.e., police officer, firefighter, paramedic), to either receive immediate access to Couple HOPES or delayed access to Couple HOPES. Couples allocated to receive 'immediate access to Couple HOPES' will immediately access the intervention. They will complete measures at three time-points, including baseline, mid-intervention and post-intervention. Participants in the 'immediate access' group will also complete a 3-month follow-up period, outside the scope of this clinical trial. The intervention: Couple HOPES (i.e., Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction) is an online self-help intervention adapted from Cognitive Behavioural Conjoint Therapy (Monson, et al., 2021). It was designed for couples seeking to address PTSD symptoms and enhance relationship satisfaction. The program consists of 7 x 30-minute online modules, which are completed approximately once a week over 8 weeks. Couples watch educational content via video and apply these skills through in-session exercises and brief practice assignments completed between modules. They are completed online and from a location of the couples' choosing. Module content encompasses psychoeducation regarding trauma recovery in the context of a relationship, increasing safety between partners, developing effective communication skills, engaging in behavioural experiments aimed at reducing avoidance, understanding the connection between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and creating a plan to take these skills forward. Practice assignments build on what is learnt within the module and include activities like reflecting on how PTSD has impacted your life and relationship, catching your partner doing something nice, practicing communication skills like timeouts during arguments, paraphrasing skills and channel checking and sharing thoughts and feelings with their partner, and approaching previously avoided activities. Participants are also supported by a coach, who helps them to overcome barriers encountered in completing the intervention and monitor symptoms. Participants will have access to 5 x coaching sessions up to 30 minutes in length conducted over Telehealth (i.e., via Zoom). Coaching sessions will be held after modules 1, 3, 5 and 7, with one additional meeting that couples can book at a time they need. Sessions will be guided using a coaching manual designed for the intervention (unpublished). Coaches will be completing postgraduate study in Psychology, receive training and supervision. Adherence: Adherence will be measured by completion of module content and attendance at coaching sessions. Coaches will help couples get the most out of the intervention by monitoring progress and helping them overcome any barriers to their participation.