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The Effect Of Writing As Exposure Therapy On Ptsd Symptoms, Daniel Scott Debrule

Dissertations

The majority of empirically supported treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder involve some form of exposure, which desensitizes an individual to traumarelated information. Theoretical work has suggested that the mechanism of exposure may explain the tendency for writing to lessen symptoms, and empirical evidence of writing and PTSD symptoms suggests that modifying the writing paradigm may result in better symptom relief. The present investigation aimed to compare the efficacy of an exposurebased writing intervention to the standard writing paradigm. A total of 68 undergraduates that were screened for PTSD symptoms were randomly assigned to write about their most severe trauma for …