Adjunct psychomotor trauma exposure in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: a case series.

Introduction

Psychotraumatic disorders, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have been a major public health issue for many years. However, many patients remain resistant to treatment, with significant levels of residual symptoms, a high dropout rate, and poor functional prognosis despite a reduction in psychotraumatic symptoms. The physical impact of trauma might influence treatment response. We have developed an integrative method for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we report the cases of 16 successive patients with PTSD treated with adjunct psychomotor trauma exposure.

Methods

The data were collected retrospectively from the clinical records of subjects treated with adjunct psychomotor exposure therapy at the Hauts-de-France Regional Center for Psychotrauma. Severity of psychotrauma was reported using PCL-5 before and one month after treatment.

Results

A decrease in PCL-5 score was seen in all participants between baseline (45.6 ± 11.6) at the end of treatment (16.6 ± 10.1) (p < .001).

Conclusion

Adjunct psychomotor exposure therapy is a promising tool for the treatment of PTSD. Future high-quality randomised controlled trials are necessary.