Study shows promise for two-day therapy that treats PTSD and improves relationships

SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 24, 2020) — Couples that include a partner with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may someday have access to a faster, more efficient therapy that treats the disorder and simultaneously improves their relationships.

A new study published by the journal Behavior Therapy demonstrated that an established treatment that typically involves 15 weekly sessions could be shortened to one weekend and delivered to multiple couples at once and still yield improvements in patient, partner and relationship outcomes.

The pilot study offered a condensed version of cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (CBCT for PTSD) to military and veteran couples through the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP). The CAP is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research consortium funded jointly by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to advance the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of PTSD among post-9/11 service members and veterans.

Couples completed the study weekend

“In addition to 100% treatment retention, there were large reductions in patients’ PTSD symptoms, along with significant improvements in co-occurring symptoms like depression, anxiety and anger. Partners also reported improvements in their own mental health and relationship satisfaction,” according to study lead Steffany Fredman, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State.

The impacts of PTSD on military members or veterans and their families is significant, with estimates suggesting that 15% of service members and 23% of veterans who have deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, suffer from PTSD. The disorder affects not only individuals, but also their spouses and families.

PTSD is associated with relationship distress, physical and psychological aggression and partner psychological distress, with effects particularly salient among military and veteran populations.

Therapy helped keep families together

“A majority of service members are married, and we know that PTSD has been a major factor related to divorces among military personnel.  So having a therapy that effectively brings couples together as a team to address both PTSD and relationship issues is a way not only to treat PTSD, but also to help keep families together,” said Alan Peterson, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio).

Peterson, director of the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD, said such treatment outcomes have a positive ripple effect. “A common reason people leave the military is that their families are not happy,” he said. “So, by improving family relationships, you in turn can help more people retain their military careers and improve military readiness. And when you consider that PTSD, broken relationships and losing one’s military career are all big factors related to suicide risk, an effective therapy of this sort can literally help save lives.”

CBCT for PTSD was co-developed by Fredman and her colleague Candice Monson of Ryerson University. It is a well-known, effective therapy program designed to treat PTSD symptoms and improve relationships among couples who suffer from PTSD’s impact.

Unfortunately, the 15-session weekly format of CBCT for PTSD can be challenging for many couples to complete, highlighting the need for more efficient delivery formats of the program to maximize treatment engagement and retention and to achieve faster outcomes.

To assist more couples who need the intervention, Fredman and colleagues developed an abbreviated, intensive, multi-couple group version of CBCT for PTSD to increase treatment efficiency and reach.

Format evaluated with couples in South and Central Texas

Researchers pilot-tested the program by delivering it to couples during one of seven single weekend retreats. The workshop-style retreats, ranging in size from two to six couples recruited from South and Central Texas, were co-led by two group therapists. Each of the 24 participating couples included an active-duty service member or veteran with PTSD who had deployed in support of combat operations following Sept. 11, 2001.

“The treatment format we tested was an attempt to reduce logistical barriers to the participation of military and veteran couples with PTSD,” according to Fredman. “We were hopeful that couples who participated in the study would experience some benefits, but the extent of the benefits was much greater than we expected.”

Fredman and colleagues think there are many reasons for the observed successes of this format.

“This format retained much of the key content of the already-effective CBCT for PTSD program, just in a more condensed format,” according to Fredman. The group nature of this treatment likely also played an important role in couples’ recovery by providing them the opportunity to learn from others struggling with similar individual and relational challenges and to realize that they’re not alone, according to the researchers.

“We can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to treating PTSD, so our group has been evaluating novel ways of delivering the top therapies to increase accessibility and improve or maintain efficacy,” said Peterson. “This is another study showing that condensed formats have a lot of benefits. They’re very appealing to certain groups of people, can fit better into their lifestyles and make them more likely to complete therapy. This is another great tool to have in the clinician’s toolbox as we’re looking for different ways to deliver evidence-based PTSD treatment.”

The findings from this trial are promising, suggesting a large-scale clinical trial to further evaluate this therapy format.

UT Health San Antonio offering quarterly retreats

In addition, UT Health San Antonio has funding through a philanthropic donation to offer quarterly retreats over the coming year using this treatment approach with service members and veterans in South-Central Texas. For information, e-mail sa@strongstar.org or call 210-562-6726.

Study authors

Along with Fredman and Peterson, the research team included Alexandra Macdonald (The Citadel), Candice Monson (Ryerson University), Katherine Dondanville, Tabatha Blount, Brooke Fina, Brittany Hall-Clark, Jim Mintz, Stacey Young-McCaughan, Allison Hancock, John Roache, Cindy McGeary (UT Health San Antonio), Brett Litz (VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine), Galena Rhoades (University of Denver), Jeffrey Yarvis (Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood) Yunying Le (Penn State), Patricia Resick (Duke University), Terence Keane, Barbara Niles, Jennifer Wachen (VA Boston Healthcare System, National Center for PTSD, and Boston University School of Medicine).

In addition to the VA and DoD funding provided to the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD for this study, support for Fredman’s efforts on the project was provided by Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s Early-Stage Investigator Training Program (KL2), funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the Karl R. Fink and Diane Wendle Fink Early Career Professorship for the Study of Families.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, also referred to as UT Health San Antonio, is one of the country’s leading health sciences universities and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. With missions of teaching, research, patient care and community engagement, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have graduated more than 37,000 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields, and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit http://www.uthscsa.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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