Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a potentially debilitating anxiety disorder that affects at least 10% of people who experience traumatic events.1 The disorder is associated with mental and physical comorbid conditions,2 reductions in quality of life,3 and economic burden.4 In recent years, there has been much attention paid to possible early intervention strategies to prevent PTSD. There is convergent evidence that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is an efficacious treatment for PTSD.5,6 Cognitive behavioral therapy has been adapted to prevent PTSD by providing brief forms of treatment in the initial month after trauma exposure. Studies that have provided abridged cognitive behavioral therapy to people with acute symptoms have found that it can accelerate recovery.7-9 Other articles have focused on patients with acute stress disorder (ASD) because prospective studies demonstrate that these individuals are most likely to develop chronic PTSD.10 A series of studies has found that 5 therapy sessions comprising prolonged exposure (PE) and cognitive restructuring (CR) are efficacious in preventing PTSD in patients with ASD in the initial month after trauma exposure,11-14 and these treatment gains are maintained as long as 4 years after treatment.15,16