Imagery rescripting as a stand-alone treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood abuse

Objective
This case series tested the feasibility and explored the efficacy of Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) as a stand-alone treatment for PTSD related to childhood physical and/or sexual abuse (CA).

Method
Participants (6 women and 2 men) were patients with PTSD related to CA who entered an 8 week treatment program with 16 twice-weekly ImRs sessions. Blind assessments took place at pre- and post-treatment and at 3 month follow-up.

Results
Participants showed improvement in both self-reported and clinician-rated PTSD symptoms. Gains were maintained at 3-month follow-up. At post-treatment, 50% of participants no longer met criteria for PTSD, and this number increased to 75% at 3 month follow-up.

Limitations
The main limitation is the small sample size and the selective nature of the sample, which limits the generalizability of the findings.

Conclusions
This pilot study suggests that Imagery Rescripting as stand-alone treatment is feasible and effective without prior stabilization in an outpatient population with CA-related PTSD. Further replication is needed in form of a randomized controlled trial.