8-day intensive treatment programme for PTSD and complex PTSD vs treatment as usual: a clinical trial

Background: Intensive treatment programmes (ITP) have emerged as a treatment option for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD) during the last decade. Results are promising, but further studies with control group are needed.Objective: To compare the effect of an 8-day ITP with traditionally spaced treatments for PTSD.Method: Participants with PTSD or CPTSD (n = 101) in a Swedish psychiatric outpatient clinic received either 8-day ITP, including prolonged exposure, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy, physical activity and psychoeducation, or traditionally spaced treatment (TAU). Participants were allocated by shared decision-making.Results: A significant reduction in PTSD symptoms was observed at posttreatment, with large effect sizes in both conditions. Symptom reduction was maintained at follow-up. There was no significant difference between treatment groups in degree of symptom reduction at posttreatment and follow-up. In the ITP, 73.3% did not meet criteria for PTSD at follow-up, and 74.4% in TAU. There was a significant difference in dropout rates between treatment groups: 4.3% in ITP and 24.1% in TAU.Conclusions: Results indicate that ITP can be considered an effective treatment in healthcare settings where multiple treatment options are available. Randomised control studies to isolate treatment effects and finding underlying factors explaining the difference in dropout rates are important directions for future research.