Evaluating self-efficacy as a treatment mechanism during an intensive treatment program for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Objective: Although traumatic exposures are common, only a small percentage of people exposed to trauma go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This phenomenon suggests that there may be psychological factors that influence posttraumatic recovery trajectories. Beliefs about one's ability to cope with traumatic events have been proposed as a mechanism of posttraumatic recovery.

A systematic review of literature examining mediators and mechanisms of change in empirically supported treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Despite the availability of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), relatively little is known regarding these treatments' mechanisms of change. This systematic review moves beyond previous reviews by summarizing the findings and reviewing the methodological quality of literature that specifically examined mediators/mechanisms of change in ESTs for PTSD. Studies were included if they were written in English, empirical, peer-reviewed, claimed to study mediators/mechanisms of a recommended PTSD treatment, measured the mediator/mechanism during or before and after treatment, and included a posttreatment PTSD or global outcome (e.

The effect of time since index trauma on trauma-related beliefs.

Objective: Greater duration of negative trauma-related beliefs may inhibit improvements in these cognitions during posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of time since trauma on change in negative trauma-related beliefs during PTSD treatment.

Method: A sample of 126 adults diagnosed with PTSD were randomized to Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Written Exposure Therapy (WET) and completed the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI) at pretreatment and 6, 12, 24, 36, and 60 weeks following the first treatment session.