Prolonged Exposure Versus Dynamic Therapy for Adolescent PTSD: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

ObjectiveTo examine the efficacy and maintenance of developmentally adapted prolonged exposure therapy for adolescents (PE-A) compared with active control time-limited dynamic therapy (TLDP-A) for decreasing posttraumatic and depressive symptoms in adolescent victims of single-event traumas.MethodThirty-eight adolescents (12 to 18 years old) were randomly assigned to receive PE-A or TLDP-A.ResultsBoth treatments resulted in decreased posttraumatic stress disorder and depression and increased functioning. PE-A exhibited a greater decrease of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptom severity and a greater increase in global functioning than did TDLP-A. After treatment, 68.4% of adolescents beginning treatment with PE-A and 36.8% of those beginning treatment with TLDP-A no longer met diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. Treatment gains were maintained at 6- and 17-month follow-ups.ConclusionsBrief individual therapy is effective in decreasing posttraumatic distress and behavioral trauma-focused components enhance efficacy.Clinical trial registry informationProlonged Exposure Therapy Versus Active Psychotherapy in Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Adolescents, URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov, unique identifier: NCT00183690.