‘Undoing a knot’: a qualitative study of massed 1-week Cognitive Processing Therapy

Introduction: Intensive or massed Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been found to result in significant PTSD symptom reductions. However, few studies to date have used qualitative approaches to systematically evaluate client reflections about massed treatment approaches for PTSD. To address this gap, the present study aimed to improve our understanding of trauma survivors’ reflections following the completion of 1-week CPT. Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven trauma survivors within 3-months of the completion of 1-week CPT. We used the scissor-and-sort technique to identify themes and subthemes in the qualitative data. Results: Using the scissor-and-sort technique, we generated five main themes and associated subthemes from the data. The main themes were: (a) tangible skills, (b) feasibility, (c) therapeutic process, (d) symptom presentation, and (e) treatment expectations. Conclusion: Collectively, our results suggested that 1-week CPT was feasible and led to changes in PTSD symptoms and improved cognitive and affective coping skills.