Evaluating Postdeployment Training for Coping With Intrusive Cognition: A Comparison of Training Approaches

Objective: Although intrusive cognition (IC) is remarkably common in soldiers postdeployment and successful coping with ICs may predict better long-term psychological health, few elements of current programmatic postdeployment trainings have directly addressed adaptive strategies for managing intrusive deployment-related cognitions. The current study explored the efficacy of a brief acceptance-based skills training for coping with ICs relative to a change-based skills training, a psychoeducation-only training, or training as usual. Method: Participants were 1,524 (1,372 men) active-duty U.S. Army soldiers between 3 and 12 months' postdeployment. Results: Soldiers who received acceptance-based training demonstrated larger reductions in distress and impairment related to ICs about deployment at 1 month follow-up and larger reductions in symptoms of PTSD and general psychopathology relative to other training conditions. In contrast, participants in the change-oriented skills training showed relatively fewer benefits than did those in the acceptance-based training. In addition, soldiers who received the psychoeducation-only training showed no benefits relative to training as usual. Conclusions: Results suggest that brief trainings focused on postdeployment ICs may have benefits for soldiers up to 1 month later and may be a useful addition to a broader postdeployment transition program. Findings also indicate that an acceptance-based training approach may be more beneficial than a change-oriented approach for helping soldiers manage ICs and that psychoeducation alone may be insufficient for helping soldiers manage these cognitions. What is the public health significance of this article? This study suggests that a brief, targeted, acceptance-based training may be beneficial in helping soldiers manage postdeployment intrusive cognitions.