Effectiveness of Trauma‐Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treating PTSD and Co‐Occurring Depression: A Meta‐Analytic Update of Experimental Studies

ABSTRACT The prevalence of co‐occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression poses a noteworthy challenge to optimal development and well‐being among youth characterized by variations in risk associated with biological and environmental variables. In response, counselors have implemented interventions such as trauma‐focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF‐CBT) to decrease symptom severity, increase psychosocial functioning, and plan for personal safety. While studies depicting the effectiveness of TF‐CBT are present in empirical literature, meta‐analytic syntheses accounting for co‐occurring depression, moderators of treatment effect, and estimations of prospective outcomes are less represented. Our meta‐analysis of 34 studies yielded 68 effect sizes (41 PTSD, 27 Depression) associated with treatment outcomes for 4261 participants supported the presumption of superiority of TF‐CBT when compared to no treatment and alternative treatments for PTSD ( g = −1.22 and −0.27, respectively) and depression ( g = −0.62 and −0.24, respectively) with varied participant and study characteristics moderating treatment effects.