Effectiveness of treatments for symptoms of post-trauma related guilt, shame and anger in military and civilian populations: a systematic review

Serfioti, D ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4175-0652, Murphy, D, Greenberg, N and Williamson, V, 2022. Effectiveness of treatments for symptoms of post-trauma related guilt, shame and anger in military and civilian populations: a systematic review. BMJ Military Health. ISSN 2633-3767

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Abstract

Introduction: Individuals who have been exposed to a traumatic event can develop profound feelings of guilt, shame and anger. Yet, studies of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have largely investigated changes in PTSD symptoms relating to a sense of ongoing fear and threat and the effectiveness of such treatments for post-trauma related guilt, shame or anger symptom reduction is comparatively not well understood.

Methods: This review systematically examined the effectiveness of existing treatment approaches for three symptoms associated with exposure to traumatic events: guilt, shame and anger. Studies included had to be published after 2010 with a sample size of 50 or greater to ensure stable treatment outcome estimates.

Results: 15 studies were included, consisting of both civilian and (ex-) military population samples exposed to a wide range of traumatic events (e.g. combat-related, sexual abuse). Findings indicated a moderate strength of evidence that both cognitive- and exposure-based treatments are similarly effective in reducing symptoms: cognitive-based treatments were found to effectively reduce post-trauma related guilt and anger, while exposure-based treatments appeared effective for post-trauma related guilt, shame and anger.

Conclusions: Although promising, firm conclusions regarding the comparative effectiveness and long-term impact of these treatments could not be drawn due to insufficient evidence. Further empirical research is needed to examine populations exposed to traumatic events and investigate which treatment approaches (or combination thereof) are more effective in the long-term.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	BMJ Military Health
Creators:	Serfioti, D., Murphy, D., Greenberg, N. and Williamson, V.
Publisher:	BMJ
Date:	28 November 2022
ISSN:	2633-3767
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1136/military-2022-002155 DOI 1640331 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	27 Jan 2023 11:37
Last Modified:	27 Jan 2023 11:42
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/48081

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