Control-Focused Behavioral Treatment: A brief intervention for survivors of war and torture

This article briefly reviews the evolution and evidence-base of Control-Focused Behavioral Treatment (CFBT), largely self-helpbased treatment that involves no cognitive interventions, focuses solely on reducing avoidance behaviors through self-exposure to anxiety-evoking trauma cues, and, unlike other aims enhance sense control over traumatic stressors, rather than anxiety reduction. As such, it is radicallydifferent from interventions in both theory practice. Our studies have shown improvement rates 80%-85% with a single session earthquake survivors. When administered an average 6 sessions war torture survivors, achieved 82% reduction posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSD), leaving 97% cases nearly asymptomatic or only mild PTSD symptoms. Meta-analytical comparisons suggest such are substantially higher those byother evidence-based treatments.