Giving Patients Choice of PTSD Treatment Yields Significant Benefit, Study Finds

Adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) given a choice between sertraline or prolonged exposure therapy opted for prolonged exposure almost two to one; and while both treatments conferred significant benefits, prolonged exposure provided some advantage over sertraline, reports astudy published today inAJP in Advance.The study aimed to determine whether giving patients diagnosed with PTSD their choice of treatment would affect patient outcomes, wrote Lori A. Zoellner, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington and colleagues. According to the authors, the study was the first large-scale trial directly comparing the efficacy of sertraline and prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD.Some 200 patients with PTSD watched videotaped treatment rationales for both treatments and then indicated a preference for either sertraline or prolonged exposure. They were then randomly assigned to having a choice between treatments or to no choice of treatment. Both groups received up to 10 weeks of acute treatment and up to 24 months of follow-up.Participants showed a strong preference for prolonged exposure therapy over the medication: of 97 participants given a choice of treatment, 63% chose prolonged exposure therapy and 37% chose sertraline. Participants in the prolonged exposure group received 10 weekly, 90- to 120-minute sessions led by a therapist. Responders were offered continued sertraline up to 24 months or up to two prolonged exposure booster sessions...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ajp in advance exposure therapy Lori A. Zoellner patient preference posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD sertraline Source Type: research