Abstract

GUIMARAES, Bruno Parisotto; RUBINO, Juan Pablo  and  ALVES, Maysa Fonseca. Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis of PTSD Therapies from Clinical Practice Guidelines. Rev. bras.ter. cogn. [online]. 2022, vol.18, n.2, pp.205-214.  Epub June 24, 2024. ISSN 1808-5687.  https://doi.org/10.5935/1808-5687.20220018.

There are many effective therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, they can be very different, so comparing the most effective ones may allow us to identify what is essential for the treatment. Thus, this study aimed at conducting a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines for PTSD, and comparing the intervention strategies of these therapies. The systematic review followed the PRISMA recommendations, and we have researched guidelines from the last ten years regarding systematic reviews of psychological therapies to treat PTSD in adults. From 1,523 studies, five guidelines were selected that, analyzed together, recommended cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive therapy (CT), prolonged exposure therapy (PE), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) as first-level treatments for PTSD; and narrative exposure therapy (NET) as a second-level one. This new data affects clinical practice as the analysis excluded categories of therapies, focusing on those recommended individually. The comparison, via thematic analysis, resulted in the components psychoeducation about PTSD, in-session exposure strategies, in-session cognitive strategies, out-of-session strategies, and emotional regulation strategies. They allowed us to identify the need for exposure to the traumatic situation as essential for the effectiveness of the treatment.

Keywords : practice guidelines as topic; evidence-based practice; stress disorders; post-traumatic.

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