title: Changing Beliefs about Trauma: A Qualitative Study of Cognitive Processing Therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Controlled qualitative methods complement quantitative treatment outcome research and enable a more thorough understanding of the effects of therapy and the suspected mechanisms of action.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Thematic analyses were used to examine outcomes of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a randomized controlled trial of individuals diagnosed with military-related PTSD (n = 15).
  
  
  METHODS
  After sessions 1 and 11, participants wrote "impact statements" describing their appraisals of their trauma and beliefs potentially impacted by traumatic events. Trained raters coded each of these statements using a thematic coding scheme.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An analysis of thematic coding revealed positive changes over the course of therapy in participants' perspective on their trauma and their future, supporting the purported mechanisms of CPT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implications of this research for theory and clinical practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Georgetown College,Georgetown,USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Emmanuel College,Boston,USA.
authors.forename: Helen Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Adair
authors.affiliation: Ryerson University,Toronto,Canada.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koerner
authors.affiliation: Ryerson University,Toronto,Canada.
authors.forename: Candice M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Monson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003469:Culture; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Cognitive therapy; PTSD; qualitative methods; treatment outcome