ABSTRACT
There is good evidence from randomized controlled trials that cognitive therapy (CT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Ehlers et al., 2009) is an effective treatment (Duffy, Gillespie, & Clark, 2007; Ehlers, Clark, Hackmann, McManus, & Fennell, 2005; Ehlers et al., 2003). Furthermore, CT has been successfully disseminated to routine clinical settings in which, in contrast to randomized trials, no exclusion criteria are applied (Duffy et al., 2007; Gillespie, Duffy, Hackmann, & Clark, 2002). Finally, CT has been shown to work for acute and chronic PTSD following from one or two events (Ehlers et al., 2003, 2005), and for very chronic PTSD following multiple traumas (Duffy et al., 2007). The efficacy and effectiveness of CT for PTSD is in line with the finding from recent meta-analyses that trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is effective in the treatment of PTSD (e.g., Bisson et al., 2007). Other effective forms of trauma-focused CBT are Foa’s Prolonged Exposure (Foa & Rothbaum, 1998; Foa et al., 2005) and Resick’s Cognitive Processing Therapy (Resick & Schnicke, 1993).
