Evolution of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Quality of Life throughout a Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Workplace Trauma Victims

Abstract

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects the quality of life of employees exposed to a workplace trauma. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for PTSD. Less is known, however, about the effect of CBT for work-related PTSD on symptom reduction and QoL enhancement, and how those variables evolve throughout the therapy. Aim: This study aims to thoroughly monitor the evolution of symptoms and quality of life during and after CBT for work-related PTSD. METHODS: Forty-four participants completed structured interviews and questionnaires four times over the course of treatment (at pre-treatment, after the third session, after the ninth session, and posttreatment) and at follow-up (six months). The assessment of quality of life includes the level of current functioning, general quality of life, and work-related quality of life. CBT included 20 weekly individual sessions. Results: Our study showed that all outcomes improved significantly at post-treatment and improvements remained stable over the following six months. 69% of the participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD diagnosis, and half of the sample was able to return to work following psychotherapy. PTSD and QoL significantly improved following each CBT strategy until the end of therapy, and the variables appeared to change synchronously throughout the therapeutic process (i.e., no lagged effect). Conclusions: The findings suggest that work-related trauma victims can benefit from CBT for PTSD. The addition of specific strategies targeting quality of life in CBT for PTSD seems to be not essential for quality of life improvements, but clinicians should consider adding interventions focused on returning to work