The Effect of meditation in combination with psychotherapy in the context of PTSD. An explorative qualitative study

Meditation's role in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is debated: evidence mostly shows benefit, but risks may exist. This qualitative study, the first to examine meditation combined with psychotherapy for PTSD, interviewed 11 people—PTSD sufferers and psychotherapists—about their experiences. Six themes emerged: background, deductively identified effects, PTSD symptom groups, inductively constructed effects, negative effects and challenges, dealing with them, and effects on the psychotherapeutic process. Descriptions of transformative processes and mechanisms of action included both positively and negatively perceived effects. The findings suggest greater sensitivity is needed when using meditation in PTSD contexts, for both individuals and clinicians.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract There is ongoing research on the effect of meditation in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and possible effects are the subject of controversial debate. The studies predominantly provide evidence of a beneficial effect, but possible risk factors also appear to be associated with meditation interventions. The impact of meditation on the process of psychotherapeutic trauma treatment has not been addressed in any research publication to date. For the first time the present explorative qualitative study examines the combination of meditation, psychotherapy and PTSD. Using guided interviews, 11 people were interviewed about their experiences, including PTSD sufferers and psychotherapists. The qualitative analysis extracted six overarching themes based on the content: Background, deductively identified effects, PTSD symptom groups, inductively constructed effects, negative effects/challenges, dealing with negative effects/challenges and effects of psychotherapeutic process. Descriptions of transformative processes and mechanisms of action that imply both positively and negatively perceived effects were identified. The study aims to suggest that more sensitivity is needed in the use of meditation in the context of PTSD, both for those affected themselves and for clinicians who use meditation in a psychotherapeutic setting. Furthermore, to our knowledge, this is the first scientific study that provides experientially based insight into the use of meditation in combination with psychotherapy.