Safety of psychological interventions for adult post-traumatic stress disorder: meta-analysis on the incidence and relative risk of deterioration, adverse events and serious adverse events.

Background: Attention on harmful effects of psychological interventions for adult post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased, yet a comprehensive meta-analysis is lacking.

Aims: To summarise incidences and relative risks of deterioration, adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) in trials of psychological interventions for adult PTSD.

Method: We searched MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Web of Science and PTSDpubs from inception to 21 April 2022 for sufficiently large ( ≥ 20) randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on the incidence of harms.