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Description
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-5 defines post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD as persistent psychophysiological reactions including intrusive memories of trauma, negative feelings towards such memories, and avoidance of related stimuli—all of which are a direct result of experiencing a traumatic event. The first line of treatment for this particular mental disorder is considered to be prolonged exposure therapy or PE therapy due to its high success rate in treating the symptoms of moderate to severe PTSD as it encourages patients to directly confront and overcome their trauma. However, PE therapy has garnered concern as it has caused patients to drop out before the completion of treatment as a result of symptom exacerbation after repeatedly being reminded of their trauma. Considering this contraindication, this thesis will compare the effectiveness of prolonged exposure therapy to that of psychopharmacotherapy and psychotherapy or combination therapy as alternative treatments for PTSD. A literature review was performed. Six studies that are divided into two categories: prolonged exposure therapy exclusively and combination therapy, were found. The studies of both categories demonstrate how prolonged exposure therapy and combination therapy affect the severity of PTSD symptoms, which ranges from a stagnant change to a moderate decrease in severity. Considering the need for further research on the effectiveness of alternative treatments for PTSD to prevent cases of symptom exacerbation, a research proposal that follows a longitudinal mixed method—qualitative and quantitative—is proposed.
Department
Nursing
Publication Date
4-19-2023
Sponsorship/Conference/Institution
The Scholarly and Creative Works Conference, Dominican University of California
City
San Rafael, CA
Keywords
prolonged exposure therapy, posttraumatic stress disorder, pharmacotherapy, symptom exacerbation, imaginal exposure
Disciplines
Nursing