Non-pharmaceutical treatments for adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Systematic review
|Published
This rapid review examined the effect of non-pharmacological treatments for reducing typical PTSD symptoms such as anxiety and depression, improving quality of life, and enhancing daily functioning.
Key message
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after experiencing or witnessing extremely threatening or frightening events. If untreated, the condition can impair normal daily functioning, which is why finding suitable treatment methods is important. This rapid review examined the effect of non-pharmacological treatments for reducing typical PTSD symptoms such as anxiety and depression, improving quality of life, and enhancing daily functioning. We searched for systematic reviews in the databases Epistemonikos, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and APA PsycInfo.
We included two systematic reviews that evaluated various treatment forms with respect to PTSD symptoms and function. The results show that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and group-based TF-CBT likely reduce PTSD symptoms compared to either treatment-as-usual (TAU) or waitlist (WL). Cognitive therapy, cognitive processing therapy, non-TF-CBT, prolonged exposure, narrative exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing may reduce PTSD symptoms compared to either TAU or WL. Regarding effects on function, psychotherapeutic treatments may have positive effects compared to TAU and WL, while cognitive-based treatments may be advantageous compared to coping/skills training. For other treatment forms, the evidence is too limited to draw conclusions about PTSD symptoms and function.
Some of the treatments we identified are relatively new. Therefore, there is less research available about these compared to more established forms of treatment, but these newer treatments may also have positive effects.