Efficacy and outcome predictors for three PTSD treatments: Exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training

In a study that directly compared exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training in patients with PTSD, we simply provided patients with a verbal description of PTSD and its treatment, then assessed the patient's treatment goals, and discussed how the treatment was relevant to the goals. For patients who do not drop out of treatment, our findings suggest that the most consistent predictor of good outcome is whether or not the patient receives exposure therapy, and that the severity of reexperiencing symptoms is an important predictor of treatment outcome, largely because relaxation training has a poorer outcome when these symptoms are severe. The efficacy of exposure and EMDR does not appear to be affected by the severity of reexperiencing. These findings provide further support for the efficacy of exposure and, to a limited extent, support the use of EMDR. Our findings, however, suggest that exposure is a first-line psychosocial treatment for PTSD.

Book Section

English

Steven Taylor

Taylor, S. (2004). Efficacy and outcome predictors for three PTSD treatments: Exposure therapy, EMDR, and relaxation training. In S. Taylor (Ed.), Advances in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: Cognitive-behavioral perspectives (1st ed.) (pp. 13-37). New York, NY: Springer Publishing