Imagery rehearsal therapy for chronic nightmares in sexual assault survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial.
JAMA August 1, 2001 B Krakow, M Hollifield, L Johnston et al.
Imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) reduced chronic nightmares, improved sleep quality, and decreased PTSD symptom severity in women with PTSD, most of whom had experienced sexual assault. In a randomized trial of 168 women in New Mexico, those receiving three IRT sessions showed large reductions in nightmare frequency and PTSD symptoms at 3- and 6-month follow-up, while wait-list controls showed only small, nonsignificant improvements. Posttraumatic stress symptoms decreased by at least one level of clinical severity in 65% of the treatment group, compared with symptoms worsening or not changing in 69% of controls. IRT appears to be a brief, well-tolerated treatment for chronic nightmares in PTSD.