Does Imaginal Exposure Exacerbate PTSD Symptoms?

Symptom exacerbation (i.e., treatment side effects) has often been neglected in the psychotherapy literature. Although prolonged exposure has gained empirical support for the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), some have expressed concern that imaginal exposure, a component of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 2002-08, Vol.70 (4), p.1022-1028
Main Authors: Foa, Edna B, Zoellner, Lori A, Feeny, Norah C, Hembree, Elizabeth A, Alvarez-Conrad, Jennifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy
Behaviour therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Disease
Chronicity (Disorders)
Crime Victims
Exposure
Exposure Therapy
Female
Human
Humans
Imagery
Imaginal Exposure
Imagination
Medical sciences
Post traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychotherapy - methods
Severity of Illness Index
Sex Offenses
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy
Symptoms
Therapy
Treatment Outcomes
Treatments
Violence
Women
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Summary:Symptom exacerbation (i.e., treatment side effects) has often been neglected in the psychotherapy literature. Although prolonged exposure has gained empirical support for the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), some have expressed concern that imaginal exposure, a component of this therapy, may cause symptom exacerbation, leading to inferior outcome or dropout. In the present study, symptom exacerbation was examined in 76 women with chronic PTSD. To define a"reliable" exacerbation, we used a method incorporating the standard deviation and test-retest reliability of each outcome measure. Only a minority of participants exhibited reliable symptom exacerbation. Individuals who reported symptom exacerbation benefited comparably from treatment. Further, symptom exacerbation was unrelated to dropout. Thus, although a minority of individuals experienced a temporary symptom exacerbation, this exacerbation was unrelated to outcome.
ISSN:0022-006X
1939-2117
DOI:10.1037/0022-006X.70.4.1022