Using the Internet to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Internet-mediated cognitive-behavioral therapy has been helpful in treating depression and other conditions (Journal Watch Psychiatry Jan 22 2007). To investigate its effectiveness in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers randomized 45 U.S. military service members who developed PTSD after the 2001 terror attack on the Pentagon, or combat in Iraq or Afghanistan, to one of two 8-week, Internet-based psychotherapies: therapist-assisted, self-management CBT or supportive counseling. The CBT patients learned self-management techniques; underwent gradual, self-guided, in vivo exposure to a hierarchy of traumatic triggers; and, after 6 weeks, wrote narratives of their traumatic experiences. The supportive counseling group received …