Sticking it out in trauma-focused treatment for PTSD: It takes a village
- Meis, L. A., Noorbaloochi, S., Hagel Campbell, E. M., Erbes, C. R., Polusny, M. A., Velasquez, T. L., ... & Spoont, M. R. (2019). Sticking it out in trauma-focused treatment for PTSD: It takes a village. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(3), 246-256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000386
- Trauma-focused treatment is known to help those who struggle with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience fewer symptoms, but the number of Veterans who drop out before completing PTSD treatment is concerning. This study examined how social control (i.e., explicit efforts by a loved one to get their Veteran to complete PTSD treatment and face any difficult emotions along the way) and PTSD symptom accommodation (i.e., a loved one changing his/her behaviors to lessen or avoid the stress that their Veteran may experience during PTSD treatment) were related to Veterans’ treatment completion. Whether these associations varied by the Veteran’s perceived relationship strain (i.e., feeling like a loved one is critical of them or stress in the relationship) was also explored. Veterans who felt comfortable in their relationship with their loved one and received encouragement to face the difficult phases of treatment (i.e., experienced social control) were more likely to complete treatment.
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