Citation

Cogan CM, Lee JY, Cranston CC, Pruiksma KE, Rhudy JL, Davis JL. J. Clin. Psychol. (Hoboken) 2019; 75(12): 2095-2105.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jclp.22852

PMID

31468547

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether a brief psychotherapy for post-trauma nightmares (exposure, relaxation, and rescripting therapy [ERRT]), reduced suicidal ideation (SI). We hypothesized that: (a) nightmare frequency and severity, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and sleep quality would be related to SI at pretreatment; (b) SI would decrease from pre- to post-treatment; and (c) the decrease in SI would remain after controlling for change in PTSD and depression.
METHOD: Seventy-five individuals exposed to a traumatic event and who experienced frequent nightmares (minimum one per week) participated in ERRT. Participants were not required to have a psychological diagnosis. Thirty percent endorsed SI at pretreatment.
RESULTS: Depression and PTSD were related to SI at pretreatment. SI decreased following treatment; however, the third hypothesis was not supported.
CONCLUSION: Results suggest brief psychotherapy targeting post-trauma nightmares may decrease SI. More research is necessary to determine what factors contribute to decreases in SI.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Sleep; PTSD; Suicidal Ideation; psychotherapy; suicidal ideation; sleep disturbance; Dreams; Depressive Disorder; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; nightmares; Imagery, Psychotherapy; Correlation of Data; Implosive Therapy; Psychotherapy, Brief; Relaxation Therapy