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Attention control therapy for acute stress disorder: A randomized controlled trial
Author(s) -
Segal Adva,
Wald Ilan,
Pine Daniel S.,
Halpern Pinchas,
BarHaim Yair
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.23040
Subject(s) - acute stress disorder , randomized controlled trial , traumatic stress , clinical psychology , clinical global impression , exposure therapy , intervention (counseling) , psychology , psychiatry , attentional bias , medicine , cognition , posttraumatic stress , anxiety , alternative medicine , pathology , placebo
Background A subset of people exposed to traumatic events develop acute stress disorder (ASD), and approximately half of people with ASD develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of internet‐delivered attention control therapy (ACT), previously shown to reduce PTSD symptoms, as an adjuvant to treatment as usual in the community for patients with ASD. Methods About 119 participants with ASD were randomly assigned to ACT or treatment as usual in the community within the first month following their traumatic event. PTSD symptoms and attention patterns were measured. Results A significant reduction in stress‐related symptoms was noted across participants with no difference between the two groups. Approximately half of the participants developed PTSD 2 months after the trauma. High attention bias variability was associated with elevated PTSD symptoms. However, attention bias variability did not change due to the therapy sessions. Conclusions Internet‐delivered ACT was no more effective in reducing risk for PTSD in participants with ASD than treatment as usual in the community. Although elevated attention bias variability was detected in the patients with ASD, ACT failed to engage this cognitive target. Finally, ACT‐based prevention research should proceed with caution given the possibility that this intervention might be associated with symptom worsening as indexed by the Clinical Global Impression scale.