Background:
Focusing on positive memories as a complement to trauma-focused interventions for intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) could contribute to enhancing the recovery from trauma with the development of a more integrated and emotionally modulated autobiographical narrative.
Objective:
To test the effectiveness of a trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) tailored for IPVAW that incorporates the evocation of positive memories.
Methods:
Female survivors of IPVAW entered a randomized controlled trial comparing trauma-focused CBT for IPVAW (CBT;
n
= 35) to a version that incorporates the evocation of positive memories (CBT-M+;
n
= 44) and to a waitlist (WL;
n
= 12) control group. Pre and post measures were obtained for: posttraumatic stress, meaning of trauma, affect, emotional regulation, associated symptoms, self-concept and overall functioning.
Results:
A total of 43.04% of women who entered treatment dropped out, without significant treatment differences. Pre–post changes were not significant for the WL; both treatments resulted in significant improvements, with good effect sizes, for posttraumatic stress (
g
= 0.78 and
g
= 1.00 for CBT and CBT-M+, respectively), meaning of trauma, affect, associated symptoms, self-concept and overall functioning, but not in emotional regulation. There were no significant differences between CBT and CBT-M+ in the direct comparisons; however, the effect sizes showed better effects of CBT for centrality of the IPVAW, whereas they favoured CBT-M+ for PTSD, depression, self-esteem and impairment measures. No clinically significant change was reached for the WL, while both treatments significantly reduced the percentage of women with PTSD and self-esteem problems; additionally, the percentage of women with depression and impairment problems in the CBT-M+ group was significantly decreased.
Conclusions:
Although there were few differences between both treatments, CBT-M+ seemed to have a greater effect, pointing to the potential of the inclusion of the evocation of positive memories that should be further researched.
