ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology for Clinical Settings
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542478
A Qualitative Study of Therapists’ use of Empirically Supported Techniques for PTSD
Provisionally accepted
- 1Iowa State University, Ames, United States
- 2Heart Counseling LLC, Madison Wisconsin, United States
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Understanding how practicing therapists implement and perceive exposure techniquesas well as other empirically supported treatment components for PTSD, such as those found in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is essential for improving the delivery of effective interventions. This study aims to contribute to that effort by exploring the experiences and attitudes of therapists who treat PTSD in clinical practice. As part of a broader mixed-methods inquiry, in-depth interviews were conducted. Results aligned with several a priori themes, while additional themes also emerged from the data. The findings suggest that therapists often employ a client-centered integration of CBT and EMDR techniques. There was also a noted reluctance to use exposure sessions in CBT for PTSD, particularly when therapists interpreted exposure primarily as in vivo exposure. While many interviewees equated exposure techniques with in vivo sessions, some viewed EMDR as a form of imaginal exposure. These findings contribute to the growing body of qualitative research on therapist-related factors that influence the implementation of effective PTSD interventions.Additional themes are discussed, along with implications for improving intervention delivery and directions for future research.
Keywords: Qualitative, therapist, traumatic, PTSD, cbt, EMDR
Received: 09 Dec 2024; Accepted: 09 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Neill, Zarling and Weems. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Carl F Weems, Iowa State University, Ames, United States
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