Digital PTSD therapy works but leaves some patients behind
A Swedish study found that online prolonged exposure therapy helps most trauma patients and reduces treatment wait times—but roughly one-third report it doesn't fully address their needs. The finding suggests digital mental health platforms need better customization to prevent gaps in care as health systems scale up remote treatment.
Originaltitel: Helpful but not enough: exploring participants' experiences of a digital therapist-guided prolonged exposure treatment for PTSD
<p>Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be a severe psychiatric condition, and access to timely evidence-based treatment is often limited. Prolonged exposure is recommended as first line treatment in clinical guidelines. There is limited research on how digital formats of prolonged exposure used to increase treatment availability impact user experience. Therefore, we wanted to investigate patients' experiences of prolonged exposure in a therapist-guided internet-delivered format (HOPE; Huddinge Online Prolonged Exposure), as part of an uncontrolled feasibility study.Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 14 participants upon their completion of HOPE.Results: Thematic analysis revealed that participants found HOPE to be helpful and effective, especially valuing the flexibility in the digital treatment format. However, a subset of participants reported that HOPE did not meet their needs entirely, indicating room for improvement and tailoring of treatment to individual preferences and needs.Conclusion: This study represents the first exploration of internet-delivered prolonged exposure therapy within a Swedish psychiatric setting, comprising participants characterized by moderate to severe PTSD and self-rated complex PTSD. The results could help guide the development of more accessible and acceptable treatments for PTSD, ultimately improving treatment quality. Antecedentes: El Trastorno de Estr & eacute;s Postraum & aacute;tico (TEPT) puede ser una condici & oacute;n psiqui & aacute;trica severa y el acceso a un tratamiento oportuno basado en la evidencia suele ser limitado. Las gu & iacute;as cl & iacute;nicas recomiendan la exposici & oacute;n prolongada como primera l & iacute;nea de tratamiento. Hay pocas investigaciones de c & oacute;mo los formatos digitales de exposici & oacute;n prolongada utilizados para incrementar la disponibilidad del tratamiento impactan en la experiencia del usuario. Por lo tanto, quisimos investigar las experiencias de los pacientes con la exposici & oacute;n prolongada en un formato guiado por un terapeuta y entregado a trav & eacute;s de internet (HOPE; Huddinge Online Prolonged Exposure), como parte de un estudio de viabilidad no controlado.M & eacute;todo: Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas con un total de 14 participantes una vez finalizada HOPE.Resultados: Los an & aacute;lisis tem & aacute;ticos revelaron que los participantes encontraron que HOPE era & uacute;til y eficaz, valoraron especialmente la flexibilidad del formato de tratamiento digital. Sin embargo, un subgrupo de participantes report & oacute; que HOPE no satisfac & iacute;a totalmente sus necesidades, lo que indica que hay margen para mejorar y adaptar el tratamiento a las preferencias y necesidades individuales.Conclusi & oacute;n: Este estudio representa la primera exploraci & oacute;n de una terapia de exposici & oacute;n prolongada a trav & eacute;s de internet en un contexto psiqui & aacute;trico sueco, en el que participaron pacientes con TEPT de moderado a grave y TEPT complejo auto-evaluados. Los resultados podr & iacute;an ayudar a orientar el desarrollo de tratamientos para el TEPT m & aacute;s accesibles y aceptables, mejorando en & uacute;ltima instancia la calidad del tratamiento.</p>