Enhancing combat veterans' motivation to change posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and other problem behaviors

Clinicians and researchers labor to develop more effective treatments, and professional conferences are replete with presentations about new cognitive-behavioral, drug, and alternative interventions. Yet, treatment effectiveness of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains in doubt due to findings of poor treatment outcome in two major studies. Related to this issue, but often not seen as connected to it, is the reputation of veteran patients with PTSD as being reluctant and difficult participants in therapy. This chapter addresses an important aspect of the treatment of longstanding combat-related PTSD that treatment providers have neglected or used confrontational methods to address but that any clinician working with this population can recognize: the reluctance of patients with PTSD to acknowledge the need to change PTSD symptoms and related maladaptive coping styles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)