Using CBT to treat depressed female veterans
Using a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) appears more effective than “present-centered” therapy (talking about current problems) to treat female military veterans and active duty women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD).
Here are the details.
- Randomized controlled trial
- 284 female veterans and active-duty personnel PTSD
- Assigned to CBT or present-centered therapy
- 10 weekly 90-minute sessions
- Data collected before, after, and at 3- and 6-month after treatment.
And the results as reported in the February 28 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
- Women who received CBT were more likely to no longer meet the criteria for PTSD (41% vs. 28%)
- And more than twice as likely to achieve total remission (15% vs. 7%)
- Self-reported PTSD, depression, and overall mental health improved from pretreatment to post-treatment in both groups.
But here’s the real challenge: “for large health care systems like those of the VA and the Department of Defense … to find efficient ways to train personnel to promote dissemination of these effective treatments,” the authors conclude.
2/26/07 21:11 JR