Cognitive processing therapy for male veterans with military sexual trauma-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined 11 male veterans with military sexual trauma (MST)-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who participated in a larger randomized control trial comparing cognitive processing therapy (CPT) to a well-established control treatment (Present Centered Therapy; PCT) among men and women with MST-related PTSD.

METHOD: All participants (n=11) completed a 12 session protocol of CPT. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), PTSD Checklist (PCL), and Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) were administered at baseline and post-treatment sessions 2, 4, and 6 months after CPT completion. Additionally, the PCL and QIDS were administered every two sessions during CPT treatment.

RESULTS: Piecewise growth curve analyses revealed that significant change over time in both PTSD and depressive symptoms was associated with the active treatment phase and that participants maintained treatment gains over the 6-month follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS: CPT effectively reduced self-reported symptoms of PTSD as well as depressive symptoms for men with MST-related PTSD. Additionally, participants maintained the gains they made during treatment over a 6-month follow-up period. It is recommended that future studies examine patient characteristics that might impact outcome in order to improve understanding of who benefits the most from treatment.