A Randomized Clinical Trial of Cognitive Processing Therapy for Veterans With PTSD Related to Military Sexual Trauma

TLDR

The study evaluated whether cognitive processing therapy reduces PTSD and depressive symptoms in veterans with military sexual trauma. Eighty‑six veterans received 12 individual sessions of either CPT or present‑centered therapy, with blinded assessments at baseline, posttreatment, and 2, 4, and 6 months. CPT produced a significantly greater reduction in self‑reported PTSD symptoms at posttreatment compared to present‑centered therapy, with moderate‑to‑large effect sizes and overall improvement across all primary outcomes.

Abstract

In this randomized controlled clinical trial, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) in the treatment of self‐reported and clinician‐assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to military sexual trauma (MST), along with depressive symptoms. Eighty‐six veterans (73 female, 13 male) randomly assigned to receive 12 individual sessions of either CPT or present‐centered therapy (PCT) were included in analyses. Blinded assessments occurred at baseline, posttreatment, and 2, 4, and 6 months posttreatment. Mixed‐effects model analysis revealed a significant interaction between groups ( p = .05, d = −0.85): At posttreatment, veterans who received CPT had a significantly greater reduction in self‐reported, but not clinician‐assessed, PTSD symptom severity compared to veterans who received PCT. All three primary outcome measures improved significantly, both clinically and statistically, across time in both treatment groups. Pre‐ and posttreatment effect sizes were mostly moderate to large ( d = 0.30–1.02) and trended larger in the CPT group. Although the study was impacted by treatment fidelity issues, results provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of CPT in reducing self‐reported PTSD symptoms in a population of veterans with MST, expanding on established literature that has demonstrated the effectiveness of CPT in treating PTSD related to sexual assault in civilian populations.