Cognitive Trauma Therapy for Battered Women With PTSD (CTT-BW).

TLDR

The study evaluates the effectiveness of cognitive trauma therapy (CTT‑BW) for battered women with PTSD. CTT‑BW integrates trauma history exploration, PTSD education, stress management, exposure to abuse reminders, self‑monitoring of negative self‑talk, guilt‑focused cognitive therapy, and self‑advocacy/assertiveness modules, and was tested in 125 ethnically diverse women randomized to immediate or delayed treatment. In the randomized trial, 87 % of women who completed CTT‑BW achieved PTSD remission, with marked reductions in depression and guilt, increased self‑esteem, and sustained gains at 3‑ and 6‑month follow‑ups, benefits that were consistent across racial/ethnic groups, therapist gender, and training level.

Abstract

This article describes a second treatment-outcome study of cognitive trauma therapy for battered women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; CTT-BW). CTT-BW includes trauma history exploration: PTSD education; stress management; exposure to abuse and abuser reminders; self-monitoring of negative self-talk; cognitive therapy for guilt; and modules on self-advocacy, assertiveness, and how to identify perpetrators. One hundred twenty-five ethnically diverse women were randomly assigned to immediate or delayed CTT-BW. PTSD remitted in 87% of women who completed CTT-BW, with large reductions in depression and guilt and substantial increases in self-esteem. White and ethnic minority women benefited equally from CTT-BW. Similar treatment outcomes were obtained by male and female therapists and by therapists with different levels of education and training. Gains were maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-ups.