Three relevant systematic reviews with meta-analyses5,14,21 and two additional relevant RCTs36,37 were identified and included in this review. No relevant health technology assessments or non-randomized studies were identified. Evidence examining how iCBT compared to face-to-face CBT, video-delivered CBT, or to alternative frequently used psychotherapy interventions was not identified in this review. The limitations of the included studies highlighted in this review, such as their open-label nature and lack of detailed reporting on potential confounders (e.g., comorbid psychological condition, patient use of medication) should be considered when interpreting these results. While it can be difficult to prevent PTSD, there are research-backed treatments — including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — to help you manage your symptoms. As research continues to transition to the utilization of DSM-5 criteria, it will be essential to update the guidelines informed by the new criteria as this new conceptualization could impact the measurement and efficacy of these treatments.
- These methods are intended to help the patient with PTSD gain a more objective understanding of their traumatic experience, return their sense of control and self-confidence, and improve their ability to cope and reduce avoidance behaviors.
- As well, those veterans who referred themselves to the program could be a systematically different subset of the larger population of veterans.
- In contrast, in trauma, the amygdala processes information in ways that lay down a very different memory.
- This section discusses the importance of certification and specialization in trauma-focused CBT training.
- Overall, the review may have been vulnerable to several important biases, so the authors’ conclusions should be treated with caution.
Use of the Internet
The process of identifying relevant articles began by searching for EMBASE, Medline and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. A manual search of the references list of included articles was conducted to identify any articles not retrieved by the database searches. Systematic review investigating the effectiveness of iCBT for PTSD or post-traumatic stress. The RCT by Littleton et al.37 evaluated participant satisfaction with the interactive iCBT program and their therapist using the Satisfaction with Therapy and Therapist Scale-Revised (STTS-R).
CBT approaches

The subgroup meta-analysis of post-traumatic symptoms and depression at three months follow-up, comprised a few number of analyzed studies. Our inferences must be interpreted cautiously due to the presence of bias in more than one domain of included trials. We also did not conduct meta-regression of various variables such as age and sex due to a small number of included studies. Future large-scale randomized trials are warranted with longer follow-up periods and adherence to well-designed protocols. Our review relied on the information presented in identified systematic reviews to assess the eligibility of their included primary studies (i.e., the full-texts of primary studies included within systematic reviews were not reviewed to confirm eligibility). In these cases, we extracted and summarized the outcome data reported in the systematic review based on the eligibility information presented in each systematic review.

Appendix 4. Main Study Findings and Authors’ Conclusions
Although CPTSD is characterised by the same three core post-traumatic symptom clusters that make up PTSD, three additional clusters must be present to make cognitive behavioral therapy a CPTSD diagnosis. These are chronic and pervasive disturbances in (a) emotion regulation, (b) identity and (c) relationships. When translating the findings of this meta-analysis into clinical practice, there are several limitations that need to be considered. For instance, there are few numbers of included participants in the analyzed randomized trials. We also searched only three major databases; however, we considered the manual searching to cover more articles.
Trauma-focused CBT for PTSD
Kelly Vick, a registered psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada, prefers using solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). Your therapist might work with you to reevaluate your thinking patterns and the assumptions you make about your trauma, such as overgeneralizing the likeliness that something bad could happen to you. For example, a therapist usually begins by asking you about your past, your experiences, and your beliefs to figure out what motivates you, how you handle disappointment and anger, and how you cope with things. CBT primarily focuses on changing unhelpful thought and behavior patterns to help relieve PTSD symptoms. The authors acknowledge, with gratitude, critical support from the Wounded Warrior Project, which https://ict.simad.edu.so/alcohol-high-blood-pressure-how-does-drinking/ has supported the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program in the Warrior Care Network.
Treating PTSD
This exposure can help the patient to process the trauma and reduce the symptoms of PTSD. PTSD can be a chronic and debilitating condition, but effective treatments are available, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Early trauma can lead to guilt, anger, feelings of powerlessness, self-harm, acting out, depression, and anxiety.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has undergone rigorous scrutiny through numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- The content published in Cureus is the result of clinical experience and/or research by independent individuals or organizations.
- Trauma-focused treatments directly address memories of the traumatic event or thoughts and feeling related to the traumatic event.
- If the program was marketed, royalties would be paid to Cardiff University, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, and to five of the seven authors.
- Pioneered by Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, CBT’s historical development is characterized by a systematic refinement of techniques and principles aimed at addressing maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors.
Once maladaptive thoughts are identified, CBT aims to restructure cognitive patterns through various therapeutic techniques. Cognitive restructuring involves challenging and modifying distorted beliefs, replacing them with more balanced and realistic perspectives. This section elucidates the process of cognitive restructuring, emphasizing the collaborative nature of therapy and the cultivation of cognitive flexibility to foster adaptive responses to trauma-related triggers.
CPT allows for cognitive activation of the memory, while identifying maladaptive cognitions (assimilated and over-accommodated beliefs) that have derived from the traumatic event. The main aim of CPT is to shift beliefs towards Oxford House accommodation (Resick and Schnicke, 1992). Clinical practice guidelines for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). See Table 1 for an overview of the “strongly recommended” and “recommended” treatments for adults with PTSD. Both guidelines strongly recommended use of PE, CPT and trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The VA/DoD recommended eye movement desensitization therapy (EMDR; APA “suggests”), brief eclectic psychotherapy (BET; APA suggests), narrative exposure therapy (NET; APA suggests) and written narrative exposure.