Comparative efficacy, speed, and adverse effects of three PTSD treatments:  Exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training

The authors examined the efficacy, speed, and incidence of symptom worsening for 3 treatments of PTSD: prolonged exposure, relaxation training, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR; N = 60). Treatments did not differ in attrition, in the incidence of symptom worsening, or in their effects on numbing and hyperarousal symptoms. Compared with EMDR and relaxation training, exposure therapy (a) produced significantly larger reductions in avoidance and reexperiencing symptoms, (b) tended to be faster at reducing avoidance, and (c) tended to yield a greater proportion of participants who no longer met criteria for PTSD after treatment. EMDR and relaxation did not differ from one another in speed or efficacy.

Journal

English

Steven Taylor
Dana S. Thordarson
Louise Maxfield
Ingrid C. Fedoroff
Karina Lovell
John Ogrodniczuk

Taylor, S., Thordarson, D. S., Maxfield, L., Fedoroff, I. C., Lovell, K., & Ogrodniczuk, J. (2003, April). Comparative efficacy, speed, and adverse effects of three PTSD treatments:Exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 330-338. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.2.330