Cognitive Processing Therapy for Substance ‐Involved Sexual Assault: Does an Account Help or Hinder Recovery?

AbstractSexual assault (SA) often occurs in the context of substances, which can impair the trauma memory and contribute to negative cognitions like self ‐blame. Although these factors may affect posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, outcomes for substance‐involved SA have not been evaluated or compared with other types of SA. As such, we conducted a secondary analysis of a dismantling trial for cognitive processing therapy (CPT), focus ing on 58 women with an index trauma of SA that occurred since age 14. Women who experienced a substance‐involved SA (n = 21) were compared with those who experienced a non –substance‐involved SA (n = 37). Participants were randomized to CPT, CPT with written account (CPT+A), or written account only (WA). Regressions controlling for pretreatment symptom levels revealed no differences by SA type in PTSD severity at posttreatment. At 6 ‐month follow‐up, substance‐involved SA was associated with more severe residual PTSD severity than non–substance‐involved SA, with no significant differences by treatment condition. Among participants in the substance‐involved SA group, the largest effect for reduced PTSD symptom severi ty from pretreatment to follow‐up emerged in the CPT condition,d = −2.02, with reductions also observed in the CPT+A,d = −0.92, and WA groups,d = −1.23. Although more research in larger samples is needed, these preliminary findings suggest that following substance‐involved SA, a cognitive ...
Source: Journal of Traumatic Stress - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: BRIEF REPORT Source Type: research