Narrative Exposure Therapy as Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Intervention Study

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is a treatment method defined as a standardized, short-term intervention for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). NET has mainly been applied on victims of organized violence and whose life conditions are threatening and unsafe. There are no published studies of NET applied on PTSD patients living in Norway with another trauma history than war-traumas. Aim of the study: To investigate the effect of NET on diagnosed PTSD symptoms, general psychological status and depression symptoms in a sample of 10 adult patients recruited from outpatient clinics in Health-region West. Method: The patients were assessed with the Clinical Administered PTSD-scale for DSM-IV (CAPS), the Symptom Checklist -90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) before and one month after NET-treatment. Results: T-tests for dependent samples showed a significant reduction on 5 of 6 subscales on CAPS (n=10) post-treatment and 50% of the patients did no longer fulfil the PTSD criteria. On SCL-90-R (n=8) there was a significant reduction of the somatisation subscale. Reduction in the total depression score on BDI-II (n=9) were borderline significant. Conclusion: The results indicate that NET can be a promising treatment method for PTSD patients living in non-threatening and safe life-conditions in Norway.