Cognitive therapy or imaginal exposure in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Twelve-month follow-up.
BACKGROUND
Previously reported results have demonstrated the efficacy of exposure and cognitive therapy in the treatment of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but have not shown one to be superior to the other.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether treatment benefits and equivalence are maintained at 12-month follow-up in patients with chronic PTSD treated with either imaginal exposure or cognitive therapy.


METHODS
Twelve-month follow-up of a randomised clinical trial.


RESULTS
Fifty-four subjects (87% of the sample) were available to follow-up. They did not significantly differ clinically from drop-outs. There was significant clinical improvement at 12 months compared with pre-treatment. However, 39% of those followed-up still met criteria for PTSD. There were no significant differences between the two treatments. Victims of crime displayed higher levels of symptoms at follow-up than victims of accidents.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinical benefits for exposure or cognitive therapy were maintained.
Tarrier
N
N
Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, University of Manchester. ntarrier@fsl.with.man.ac.uk
Sommerfield
C
C
Pilgrim
H
H
Humphreys
L
L
D000059:Accidents; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D019548:Crime Victims; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome