Comparison of the effectiveness of prolonged exposure therapy and its combination with dialectical behavior therapy on the improvement of post-traumatic growth of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

Prolonged exposure therapy is the first line of treatment for PTSD in veterans and military personnel; However, PE may not meet the preferences of many patients with PTSD. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of prolonged exposure therapy and DBT-PE combined treatment protocol on improving the post-traumatic growth of veterans with PTSD. The research method was a pre-test-post-test experiment with a control group along with a follow-up period. The statistical population of the study consisted of all veterans with PTSD who referred to Isar Psychiatric Hospital in Ardabil in 2022. The research sample included 60 veterans with PTSD who were selected as a purposeful sampling. In order to collect data, the post-traumatic growth questionnaire was used. The first experimental group received prolonged exposure therapy (10 sessions), and the second experimental group received integrated therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (16 sessions of 90 to 120 minutes). The data were analyzed using mixed analysis of variance and Bonferroni's post hoc test. The findings of the results showed that exposure therapy and its combination with dialectical behavior therapy were effective in improving post-traumatic growth of veterans with PTSD (P<0.01); However, the effect of combined treatment was greater than other intervention (P<0.05). Therefore, using these results, it is possible to suggest the use of exposure therapy methods and its combination with dialectical behavior therapy as effective methods in improving psychological symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, along with medical treatments.