Individual treatment resulted in greater improvement in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity than group treatment, according to a recent study. Depression and suicidal ideation improved equally with both formats. However, even among those receiving individual cognitive processing therapy (CPT), approximately 50% still had PTSD and clinically significant symptoms. In a randomized clinical trial, 268 active-duty service members were assessed at an army medical center from March 8, 2012, to September 23, 2014, and were randomized to group or individual CPT. Researchers found:

• Among the 268 participants (244 men [91.0%]; 24 women [9.0%]; mean [SD] age, 33.2 [7.4] years), improvement in PTSD severity at post treatment was greater when CPT was administered individually compared with the group format.
• Significant improvements were maintained with the individual and group formats, with no differences in remission or severity of PTSD at the 6-month follow-up.
• Symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation did not differ significantly between formats.