NCJ Number
214659
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: 2006 Pages: 87-103
Date Published
2006
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article describes a modified cognitive processing therapy for survivors of child sexual abuse (CPT-SA) designed to enhance the therapy’s usability and presents results of a pilot study that assessed the effectiveness of the CPT-SA.
Abstract
Results from the pilot study involving pre- and posttreatment data indicated that the modified CPT-SA treatment protocol was effective in reducing symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of female survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA). There are three main differences between the modified CPT-SA and the standard version: (1) the reduction of individual therapy sessions to an average of four sessions during the exposure phase of therapy; (2) the addition of four group sessions for skills training to the beginning of the treatment protocol; and (3) the addition of session preparation worksheets in which clients identify their reactions to the previous week’s group therapy session. Participants of the pilot study were six female survivors of CSA who sought psychotherapy at an outpatient psychiatric treatment facility. Pretreatment data were collected between the first and second group therapy sessions via a questionnaire that measured PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and satisfaction with treatment. Posttreatment data were collected during the week before or the week after the final group therapy session. Pre- and posttreatment data were compared using paired t-tests. The findings should be considered preliminary in light of the small sample size. Future research should continue probing treatment options for CSA survivors that are both effective and efficient in resource-limited environments. Tables, references