The effect of memory specificity training on reducing cognitive and emotional symptoms in people with post-traumatic stress disorder

Abstract Introduction: Memory problems, especially Over general Autobiographical, play a central role in the development, persistence, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of memory-specific training in reducing cognitive and emotional symptoms in people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Methods: This research was an experimental type (pre-test-post-test with control group and one-month follow-up). The statistical population in this study included all people with experience of earthquake trauma and PTSD syndrome living in Sarpolezahab city in the first quarter of 2022. Thirty patients with post-traumatic stress disorder were selected by Convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. The experimental group underwent Memory Specificity Training in 6 sessions of 90 minutes, one day a week, but no intervention was performed for the control group. Both groups (control and experimental) before and after the intervention and after a one-month follow-up responded to the questionnaires of Diffiiculties in Emotion Regulation Scale- Short Form (DERS-16), Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale (APNIS), and the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scal (BDEFS). For data analysis, mixed analysis of variance test and Bonferroni post hoc test using SPSS software version 28 were used. Results: There was a significant difference between the mean scores of the post-test of the intervention and control groups, so that the Memory Specificity Training significantly reduced negative emotional dysregulation, attention bias and Inhibition deficite in The intervention group (P <0.05), this difference was also maintained in the one-month follow-up phase. Conclusions: According to the results, the use of group therapies such as the Memory Specificity Training have positive effects on reducing negative emotional dysregulation, attention bias and Inhibition deficite of people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, it is recommended as an effective intervention to reduce cognitive and emotional problems in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.