A Two-week Inpatient High Intensive Narrative Exposure Therapy Treatment Program for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Preliminary Findings
Summary
Narrative Exposure Therapy and highly intensive forms of therapy have been shown effective for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current paper investigated the preliminary effectiveness of an intensive two-week inpatient NET treatment on symptom severity and symptom clusters of PTSD. A non-controlled pilot study with 13 patients was conducted. At baseline (T1), a week after treatment (T2), and at three-months follow-up (T3), the PTSD diagnosis was assessed with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Findings were calculated using a repeated measures ANOVA, reliable change indexes (RCI) and clinically significant changes. From T1 to T3, PTSD symptoms significantly decreased with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.13). Six of the participants showed improvement with regard to reliable changes and two participants no longer met criteria for a PTSD diagnosis at T3. Intrusive symptoms significantly decreased from T1 – T2 and T2 – T3. Symptoms of cognition and mood, and arousal and reactivity significantly decreased from T1 – T3. HINET appears a promising treatment for patients with complex PTSD, and future research is needed to further determine its efficacy.