Prolonged Exposure and Emotion Regulation Skills Training: A Pilot Study Among Veterans with Military Sexual...

Difficulty with emotion regulation is common among veterans with military sexual trauma-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although evidence-based treatments for PTSD are widely available for veterans with military sexual trauma, rate of treatment completion is low, particularly for those with problems of emotion regulation. Blending emotion regulation skills training with an existing evidence-based treatment for PTSD, such as prolonged exposure (PE), may be an innovative strategy for reducing PTSD symptoms, emotion dysregulation, treatment dropout. The current study describes a pilot of a blended PE and emotion regulation skills training treatment, including session-by-session descriptions, and presenting findings from an open pilot study. This pilot study assessed retention and changes in clinical symptoms after a blended PE and emotion regulation skills training treatment among veterans (n=27; 90% women) with military sexual trauma-related PTSD and emotion regulation problems. Rate of treatment completion for the blended PE and emotion regulation skills training treatment was 67%. Moreover, a blended PE and emotion regulation skills training treatment significantly reduced both PTSD symptoms, as well as difficulties with emotion regulation from baseline to post-treatment. This study demonstrated not only feasibility, but also preliminary treatment efficacy, despite the small sample size. Findings suggest that the efficacy of a blended PE and emotion regulation skills training treatment should be evaluated in a larger trial.