Effects of psychotherapy on neuropsychological performance in PTSD

Deficits in concentration and memory are some of the most persistent symptoms of PTSD. Although many studies have investigated neuropsychological deficits in different trauma populations with and without PTSD, no study to our knowledge has looked carefully at improvement of neuropsychological functioning after psychotherapy. In the present study, we randomly assigned individuals to either Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy (n=60) or Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy (BEP; n=60). Attention and memory were investigated before and after treatment using the following neuropsychological tests: Trail Making Test, STROOP task, Verbal Learning and Memory Test and Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test. Different versions of the memory tests were administrated at pre- and postassessment in order to control for learning effects. Preliminary results of treatment completers are presented, and the clinical relevance of the findings is discussed.

Conference

English

Mirjam Nijdam
Miranda Olff
Berthold Gersons

Nijdam, M., Olff, M., & Gersons, B. (2005, November). Effects of psychotherapy on neuropsychological performance in PTSD. Poster presented at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 21st Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON