Combined Therapy for PTSD and TBI

A hybrid psychotherapeutic approach was effective for military veterans who have both diagnoses.

Veterans with a history of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during service frequently have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well (NEJM JW Psychiatry Apr 2019 and JAMA Psychiatry 2019 Jan 30; [e-pub]). But do patients with PTSD respond to cognitive therapy for TBI, and would those with TBI be responsive to PTSD-targeted therapy? In a controlled, randomized study, researchers examined the response of 100 veterans with PTSD and mild-to-moderate TBI (mild TBI, 94%) to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for PTSD or to a hybrid of CPT and compensatory cognitive-training elements of cognitive symptom management and rehabilitation therapy (for TBI symptoms). Each therapy is effective for the individual conditions.

Diagnosis of PTSD was made by…

Reviewing Author

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Combined Therapy for PTSD and TBI

Topics

Reviewing Author