Which Trauma Treatment Suits me? Identification of Patients' Treatment Preferences for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Open accessAbstract
Several psychotherapy treatments exist for posttraumatic stress disorder. This study examines the treatment preferences of treatment-seeking traumatized adults in Germany and investigates the reasons for their treatment choices. Preferences for prolonged exposure, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), psychodynamic psychotherapy and stabilization were assessed via an online survey. Reasons for preferences were analyzed by means of thematic coding by two independent rates. 104 traumatized adults completed the survey. Prolonged exposure and CBT were each preferred by nearly 30%, and EMDR and psychodynamic psychotherapy were preferred by nearly 20%. Stabilization was significantly less preferred than all other options, by only 4%. Significantly higher proportions of patients were disinclined to choose EMDR and stabilization. Patients who preferred psychodynamic psychotherapy were significantly older than those who preferred CBT. Reasons underlying preferences included the perceived treatment mechanisms and treatment efficacy. Traumatized patients vary in their treatment preferences. Preference assessments may help clinicians comprehensively address patients' individual needs and thus improve therapy outcomes.
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Patients with PTSD have strong preferences for their treatment, and many prefer to do exposure therapy when asked.
“This is important because patients with PTSD have strong preferences for their treatment, and many prefer to do exposure therapy when asked (Becker et al., 2007; Schwartzkopff et al., 2021; Tarrier et al., 2006).”
From An Open-Phase Pilot Trial of an Integration of Prolonged Exposure Therapy and the Coping Long-Term With Active Suicide Program (2026) · cites this paper as Schwartzkopff et al., 2021
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“This is important because patients with PTSD have strong preferences for their treatment, and many prefer to do exposure therapy when asked (Becker et al., 2007; Schwartzkopff et al., 2021; Tarrier et al., 2006).”
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- Authors
- Schwartzkopff, L., Gutermann, J., Steil, R., & Müller-Engelmann, M.
- Affiliations
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Schwartzkopff, Laura
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-08-12
- Volume
- 12
- Pages
- 694038-694038
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8387597
- OpenAlex
- W3187791964
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Publication Server of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Goethe University Frankfurt) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, treatment preferences, patient preferences, prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, psychodynamic psychotherapy, trauma treatment, treatment efficacy
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