Baseline Cognitive Performance and Treatment Outcomes From Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Naturalistic Study

What is it about?

Of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately 5-20% have PTSD, and another 11-23% have traumatic brain injury (TBI). Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) are empirically validated treatment strategies for PTSD. However, cognitive limitations may interfere with the ability to adhere to, and benefit from, CBTs. Co-morbid TBI has not been systematically taken into consideration in PTSD outcome research or in treatment planning guidance. We hypothesized that poorer pre-treatment cognitive abilities would be associated with poorer treatment outcomes from CBTs for PTSD. The present study was an examination of “treatment as usual” in an outpatient clinic. Participants were 23 veterans aged 18-50 years with combat-related PTSD. We measured participants' cognitive ability at baseline. We measured how their PTSD symptoms improved with treatment. Contrary to our prediction, neither pre-treatment cognitive performance, nor the presence of co-morbid mild TBI, predicted poorer response to CBTs for PTSD. Our results discourage any notion of excluding PTSD patients with poorer cognitive ability from CBTs.

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