Recall of posttraumatic stress disorder treatment information

Research has shown that better recall for treatment information is related to improved adherence and outcomes in psychotherapy. There has been minimal research on whether patients are able to recall information about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment options. To address this gap, participants who screened positive for PTSD (N = 887) were provided with descriptions of seven treatment options and asked to recall each treatment's effectiveness and whether it was a trauma-focused talk therapy. Participants were also randomly assigned a treatment and asked to write a brief description of the treatment as if they were describing it to a loved one. Correlates of recall (educational attainment level, numeracy) were also assessed. The results revealed that recall for treatment effectiveness was under 50%. Participants' ability to accurately identify trauma-focused talk therapy was under 75%. Only 31.8% of participants described their assigned treatment accurately. These findings suggest that patients retain little information about treatment options and underscore the importance of using strategies to enhance patients' memory during psychoeducation and treatment planning.