Posttraumatic stress disorder and depression residual symptoms among veterans and service members who completed a...

While previous studies have documented that evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are efficacious, treatment completers often continue to experience residual symptoms. However, no studies to date have assessed residual symptoms following intensive treatment programs (ITPs) for PTSD, which combine evidence-based PTSD treatment along with adjunctive interventions. The present study examined residual symptoms of PTSD and depression in 482 veterans and service members who completed a 3-week Cognitive Processing Therapy-based ITP.

Residual symptoms were examined at posttreatment and 3 months following ITP completion. Frequency analyses and logistic regressions were conducted to discern the presence of residual symptoms among (a) the total sample and (b) participants who did and did not experience clinically meaningful change in PTSD symptom severity over the course of treatment.

Study results indicated that the majority of participants (80%-87%) reported some PTSD and depression residual symptoms at ITP completion, which commonly continued to be endorsed at 3 months following ITP completion. At both treatment completion and 3 months following treatment, participants who experienced clinically meaningful changes during the ITP exhibited statistically lower odds of PTSD and depression residual symptoms as compared to participants who did not experience clinically meaningful changes. However, regardless of whether clinically meaningful changes in PTSD symptoms were experienced, participants most commonly endorsed residual symptoms in the hyperarousal cluster of PTSD and general depression symptoms at high rates.

Findings suggest the need to further examine functional impairment and coping skill use associated with these long-standing residual symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).