Citation

Doane LS, Feeny NC, Zoellner LA. Behav. Res. Ther. 2010; 48(6): 555-560.

Affiliation

Case Western Reserve University, Department of Psychology, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44145, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.brat.2010.02.002

PMID

20304385

PMCID

PMC3241615

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine sudden gains in those receiving treatment for PTSD and whether these rapid changes were related to overall symptom reduction in a small sample of female assault survivors with PTSD undergoing prolonged exposure (PE) therapy. Sudden gains were found to occur in 52% of the sample. Among those who experienced a sudden gain, the average magnitude (12.4 points) accounted for 61% of overall symptom reduction. Importantly, treatment outcome was better for those who experienced sudden gains than those who did not. The experience of a sudden gain may result in patients becoming more fully engaged with treatment, and recognition of them may result in identifying potential process-related predictors of treatment response.

Language: en