title: Do post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms worsen during trauma focus group treatment?
abstract: Male inpatient veterans with chronic combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) participated in trauma focus group treatment and were assessed immediately before group participation and after group completion at time of discharge. Standard measures of core PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety were used. In addition, changes in PTSD symptoms were tracked on a weekly basis for the duration of group participation. Results indicated that a single direct elicitation of war-related traumatic memories in a group setting was not associated with symptom worsening. However, veterans also did not show improvement in symptoms severity. Possible reasons for this lack of impact are discussed along with implications for future treatment design and evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Education and Clinical Laboratory Division, National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans Administration Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Ruzek
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Riney
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leskin
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Drescher
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Foy
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Gusman
mesh_terms: D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000592:standards*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans