Review of PTSD Therapies Finds Current Research Inadequate

The Institute of Medicine has urged Congress to provide funding for adequate, unbiased research on post-traumatic stress disorder after finding inadequate evidence to confirm the effectiveness of most treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Prompted by a request from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a committee from the institute reviewed 53 clinical trials of drug therapies and 37 studies of psychotherapies in hopes of identifying effective therapies to recommend in new guidelines for treatment. They found sufficient evidence to confirm only one modality, exposure therapies, as effective.

Reviewers note that this does not imply that exposure therapy is the only effective option, but rather that the other treatments cannot be deemed effective given the data reviewed. The report states, for example, that the majority of studies were funded by pharmaceutical companies and their results require replication in other settings. Noting the large number of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with the disorder, the report highlights the urgent need for high-quality PTSD research involving all stakeholders, including veterans.

BRIEF: Treatment of PTSD: An Assessment of the Evidence