Effectiveness of Narrative Exposure Therapy for Treatment of PTSD Following Childhood Trauma: A Single-Case Series Design

Abstract

Background: Narrative exposure therapy (NET) has shown promising outcomes for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in refugees and veterans. Its effectiveness in patients with PTSD following childhood trauma is, however, still unknown. Aims: We investigated whether NET is an effective treatment for patients with PTSD following childhood trauma. Method: We studied treatment outcomes of nine adult patients in an outpatient setting. An AB single-case series design was used with a baseline of 4 weeks prior to treatment. Participants filled in weekly online questionnaires to assess their PTSD symptoms (using the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale [PDS]) and their experienced quality of life (using the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life [MANSA]). Data were analysed visually and using a mixed-effect model. Results: Results revealed no significant reduction of PTSD symptoms during NET treatment, nor an increase in quality of life, as compared to baseline. Conclusions: The results of our study do not underscore the effectiveness of NET treatment for patients with PTSD following childhood trauma. Further research is needed to study the effectiveness of NET in this population.