Effectiveness of the Rewind technique in treatment-seeking military veterans presenting with post-traumatic stress disorder in an NHS setting

Emerging evidence supports the effectiveness of psychological reconsolidation interventions, such as reconsolidation of traumatic memories (RTM), for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in military veteran populations. The Rewind technique is hypothesised to work through memory reconsolidation, much like RTM, and has shown positive results when treating non-military populations with PTSD.To our knowledge, no peer-reviewed studies have focussed on Rewind's effectiveness in military veteran populations. We propose that Rewind may be a useful and effective treatment for UK military veterans with PTSD. Rewind may also provide a time-efficient intervention compared with alternative trauma-focussed therapies.

Rewind was administered to 10 veterans in a pre-test-post-test design. Veterans completed psychometric measures for PTSD, depression, anxiety and insomnia before and after treatment (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5), Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)). Psychometric scores and treatment outcomes were analysed to indicate the treatment effectiveness of Rewind in military veterans.

Significant improvement was found before and after treatment for PTSD (t(9)=3.502, p=0.007), depression (t(9)=3.392, p=0.008) and insomnia (t(9)=2.709, p=0.024) with a large effect size (d>0.8). A significant reduction in anxiety symptoms was not found; however, a non-significant improvement was noted (GAD-7 pre-treatment, M=10.30, SD=5.889; post-treatment, M=6.60, SD=6.670). No veterans dropped out of treatment and over half (n=6) of the veterans required no further treatment after a mean of three Rewind sessions.

Findings show preliminary and promising support for Rewind in the treatment of military veterans with PTSD. Rewind may also provide secondary relief for co-morbid difficulties such as depression and insomnia. Rewind shows promise as a time-efficient treatment compared with other trauma-focussed psychological interventions. Further research is recommended to provide supplementary evidence for Rewind's effectiveness in the military population. Future studies are recommended to conduct post-treatment follow-ups to monitor maintained symptom reduction.