Contextual Behavior Therapies in the Treatment of PTSD A Review

Empirical evidence supports cognitive-behavioral interventions for the treatment Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with exposure therapy typically being the most frequently utilized. While the success of exposure treatments is well established there are factors which may hinder their use in “real-world” settings (e.g., poor treatment compliance, high drop-out rates, aversive nature of the procedures). These limitations indicate that the field of psychology needs to continue to search for effective and palatable PTSD interventions. Contextual behavior therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Behavioral Activation, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy, may be these alternatives. This paper reviews the theoretical rationale and available empirical literature related to the use of these treatments with trauma populations.