Psychological interventions for post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people with severe mental illness

In this Cochrane systematic review, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of trauma-focused psychological interventions (TFPIs) to treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or other symptoms of psychological distress, in people with severe mental illness.

Researchers found that:

• Results from trials evaluating whether trauma‐focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is effective to treat PTSD, psychotic symptoms, or other symptoms of psychological distress are limited and inconclusive
• 1 trial comparing eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and waiting list (waiting for therapy options to become available) provided limited preliminary evidence favoring EMDR 
• 1 trial comparing TF-CBT and psychoeducation showed no clear effect for either therapy

Researchers concluded that larger-scale trials are needed to provide high‐quality evidence to confirm or refute these preliminary findings, and to establish which interventions are associated with improved outcomes, especially in the long term.