Evaluation of the short term effectiveness of a treatment program for the posttraumatic stress disorder in Mexican women victims of domestic violence

Abstract

The objective of this investigation is to evaluate empirically the effectiveness of a brief and specific intervention program for the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in women victims of domestic violence. The participants were 34 Mexican women battered by their partner, all with a diag-nosis of PTSD (DSM-IV-RT). The treatment program was applied in groups and consists of eight ses-sions comprising psychoeducation, training for activation control, cognitive therapy and exposure ther-apy. A cuasi-experimental design of repeated measures was used (pre-treatment, post-treatment and 1 and 3 months’ follow-up). The results at post-treatment and both follow-ups show a significant im-provement in PTSD symptoms (elimination of PTSD in 85% of participants) as well as in related symp-toms: depression, self-esteem, social maladaptation and post-traumatic ideation. The implications of this study for clinical practice are commented.