Unique Ethical Concerns in Clinical Trials Comparing Psychosocial and Psychopharmalogical Interventions.

In recent years, there has been a particular emphasis placed on conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compare the relative efficacy of psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. This article addresses relevant ethical considerations in the conduct of these treatment trials, with a focus on RCTs with children. Ethical concerns, including therapeutic misconception, treatment preference, therapeutic equipoise, structure of treatments, and balancing risks versus benefits, are introduced through a clinical scenario and discussed as they relate to psychotherapy versus medication RCTs.

Do You Need To Talk About It? Prolonged Exposure for the Treatment of Chronic PTSD.

Is addressing the traumatic memory a necessary component of the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? Perhaps not for everyone, but in the present paper, we suggest that prolonged exposure, a cognitive behavioral treatment that includes repeated recounting of the traumatic memory, is a viable and robust treatment option. Prolonged exposure (PE) is widely regarded as an efficacious treatment for chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (Foa, Keane, & Friedman, 2000). The present paper reviews the efficacy and effectiveness of PE for the treatment of chronic PTSD and for a broader range of trauma-related symptoms.

The double-barreled burden of child abuse and current stressful circumstances on adult women: The kindling effect of early traumatic experience.

Child sexual abuse and child physical abuse were compared to assess how these experiences might both positively predict and sensitize women to the effects of current stress exposure, assessed in terms of psychosocial resource loss (e.g., personal and interpersonal resources).