Posttraumatic Growth during Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Relationship to Symptom Change and Introduction of Significant Other Assessment.

Abstract

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) may play a role in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder as it is supposed to have either beneficial or dysfunctional effects on treatment-related PTS symptom (PTSS) changes. This study examined whether cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for PTSD patients can foster PTG assessed by self-reports and reports from significant others. Forty-eight PTSD patients participating in trauma-focused CBT were assessed twice: at the beginning of therapy (T1) and after three months of therapy (T2, N=34). We used the Clinician Administered PTSD-Scale (CAPS) and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and constructed a significant other version of the PTGI (PTGI-SOA). PTSS severity declined during the course of treatment, while PTG levels remained stable. Both the PTGI and PTGI-SOA were associated with higher PTSS reduction at T2. The results suggest that PTG is associated with greater improvement in PTSS during trauma-focused CBT, even though treatment could not directly enhance PTG. Significant other assessment seems to be a promising approach to improve PTG measurement.