A Narrative Commentary on the Use of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy-Informed Group to Address Irrational Beliefs, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Comorbidities.

Irrational beliefs of Demandingness, Catastrophizing, Low Frustration Tolerance, and Depreciation have demonstrated prevalence in disparate areas of life, including psychopathology, the military, politics, religion, and education. Individuals with mental health concerns, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), endorse elevations in such thoughts compared to the general population. This commentary describes the rationale for focusing on irrational beliefs in efforts to address PTSD and presents the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group for PTSD as a potential novel application of a well-established intervention. In support of these suggestions, we present a narrative review of the published work on irrational beliefs and REBT tenets as relevant for PTSD. We then introduce and describe the REBT-Informed Group intervention, summarize the prior preliminary research conducted by our group, and present some novel data from a re-analysis of this prior work. We end with commentary related to future directions of REBT approaches for PTSD to address limitations and expand the impact of the treatment to military and other Veteran or civilian populations.

The effect of a reduction in irrational beliefs on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms in a group treatment for post-9/11 Veterans.

Previous research has indicated that a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group focused on changing irrational beliefs to address comorbid depression and anxiety (as well as anger and guilt) in a combat Veteran population diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) demonstrated significant reductions in depression and PTSD symptoms at posttreatment. However, mechanisms of change associated with improvement have not been evaluated. REBT theory suggests that a decline in irrational beliefs predicts a decrease in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. This study aimed to test this tenet of REBT theory in a naturalistic treatment setting. Participants (N = 86) were post-9/11 combat Veterans, engaged in the REBT-Informed Group between October 2016 and February 2020. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that a reduction in irrational beliefs predicted notable decreases in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms controlling for several covariates. This study extends previous research demonstrating the success of the REBT-Informed Group with combat Veterans and gives support to REBT theory regarding the effect of a decline in irrational beliefs. Future directions include replication of findings with Veterans who experienced military sexual trauma (MST), pre-9/11 Veterans, those at other military or Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, and civilians to determine generalizability.

Effectiveness of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group for Post-9/11 Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Various treatments aimed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been developed for veterans, but many are not formatted for use in groups, do not address common psychiatric comorbidities, and include inherent barriers (e.g., substantial time commitment). This program evaluation study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a five-session treatment, a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group focused on changing irrational beliefs to address comorbid depression and anxiety (as well as anger and guilt) among post-9/11 veterans with PTSD. Participants (n = 47) completing the REBT-Informed Group demonstrated significant reductions at posttreatment in depression and PTSD symptoms. Compared to veterans in a ten-session treatment-as-usual group (n = 47), there was no significant difference in PTSD symptom improvement despite the reduction in number of sessions. The study demonstrates that a five-week group treatment for PTSD comorbid with depression or anxiety in post-9/11 veterans - a therapy that may be uniquely suited to a military or veteran population, but potentially generalizable to civilians as well - can lead to significant reductions in depression and PTSD symptoms. Future directions include development of a manual for dissemination and replication of findings of the REBT-Informed Group to other military or Veterans Affairs medical centers.

Maternal mood, video-mediated cognitions, and daily stress during home-based, family interactions.

This article presents an in vivo investigation of maternal negative mood, maternal video-mediated cognitions, and daily stressors in families with young children. Specifically, it was hypothesized that greater levels of maternal depressed, anxious, and hostile mood states immediately prior to a daily, reportedly routine, stressful parent-child interaction would be significantly associated with higher percentages of dysfunctional and lower percentages of functional cognitions. Forty-five mothers of 2- to 5-year-old children participated in this study by rating their mood before being videotaped in a daily routine with their child they reported as recurrent and stressful (e.g., mealtime). Using video-mediated recall (VMR) methodology, mothers were instructed to recall their cognitions upon immediate video review. Results indicated that greater levels of negative mood were associated with a greater percentage of dysfunctional cognitions and a smaller percentage of functional cognitions. Levels of maternal depressed mood were significantly and independently associated with greater rates of dysfunctional and lower rates of functional cognitions. Negative mood states were not consistently associated with the amount of maternal self-reported general irrationality, pointing to the utility of the VMR to elicit maternal cognitions specific to the observed interaction, which may have more implications for clinical intervention than more general irrationality measures. Evaluating maternal mood and using video-mediated maternal cognitions regarding daily family stressors can precipitate clinical interventions meant to reduce family-related stress and potentially improve maternal and child mental health outcomes.

Efficacy of brief quantitative measures of play for screening for autism spectrum disorders.

Quick and effective screening measures are needed for detecting Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Thirty typically developing children and 30 children with ASD aged 24-68 months were used. This study explored if the ASD group would exhibit less object exploration, diversity of play, and turn-taking than the typically developing group. Older children with ASD performed less turn-taking. On all other measures, IQ accounted for more of the difference between groups than diagnosis. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.