Pilot study on prolonged exposure of Japanese patients with posttraumatic stress disorder due to mixed traumatic events

Abstract

This pilot study investigated the feasibility of Prolonged Exposure (PE) treatment for Japanese patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to mixed traumatic events. Among 12 participants in this study, 9 women and 1 man completed between 9 and 15 weekly individual PE sessions; 2 female participants dropped out in early sessions. Among completers, the authors identified a significant reduction of symptom severity scores from pretreatment to posttreatment in terms of PTSD and depression on therapist-rated and self-rated measurements. Symptom levels remained low in 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments. Our findings suggest that PE is feasible and can be accepted for PTSD patients not only in Western countries, but also for those in Japan.