Sleep-directed Hypnosis As A Complement To Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) In Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) has demonstrated significant empirical support in treating victims of sexual assault suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) throughout its program of research at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Similarly to the larger treatment outcome literature, these clinical trials have revealed a portion of participants whose sleep remains refractory to treatment even after conclusion of a full course of treatment. In fact, the specific causes of sleep disturbance in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) sufferers, the most prominent of which are insomnia and nightmares, have not been determined. However, sleep impairment is the most often reported of the 17 PTSD symptoms and is considered one of the most refractory to treatment. It is theorized that PTSD sleep impairment relates to the hypervigilance inherent in PTSD such that sleep is disrupted by the perception that vigilance (in response to perceived threat) must be maintained at night. Sleep impairment seen in PTSD sufferers may then result from increased physiological arousal associated with chronic hypervigilance. Hypnosis provides deep relaxation which is hypothesized to decrease overall hyperarousal. Nightmares and trauma cues can further disrupt sleep through learning and conditioning. PTSD sufferers may learn to associate nighttime cues with danger and conditioned emotional responses to these cues may disrupt sleep. Detecting relatively innocuous environmental stimuli (i.e. normal nighttime noises) while trying to fall asleep and interpreting them as dangerous increases arousal. Hyperarousal interferes with sleep and has been identified as causal in the development of non-PTSD insomnia. Beyond decreases in general hyperarousal, an additive benefit of the hypnotic trance and the use of post-hypnotic suggestion would be the facilitation of new learning such that bedroom stimuli could become associated with pleasant, restful images. The use of hypnosis as a complement to CPT, an empirically supported, cognitive-behavioral intervention developed to treat PTSD, could specifically remediate 1.) sleep onset and maintenance deficits, 2) the frequency and intensity of parasomnia episodes, and 3.) cumulative sleep deprivation. Acquisition of the skill of self-hypnosis will provide PTSD sufferers with a tool to regain normal and restorative sleep patterns. Restoring sleep will enhance the efficacy of CPT in remediating psychiatric symptoms (PTSD and major depression), reduce overall physiological reactivity, increase psychosocial functioning, and decrease somatization. This study proposes the use of sleep-directed hypnotherapy as a complementary element to the empirically supported CPT in treating PTSD in sexual and physical assault survivors. Specifically: Aim 1: Compare the results of sleep-directed hypnosis + CPT (hypCPT) versus CPT-only (CPT) within a sample of female sexual/physical assault survivors. It is hypothesized that the hypCPT group will show significantly greater improvement on overall PTSD severity, concurrent psychopathology, and overall sleep impairment. Aim 2: Assess the relationship between sleep and PTSD sxs. Specifically, identify temporal and directional relationships between elevations in PTSD symptoms and increases in sleep impairment while accounting for daily life stressors. Aim 3: Evaluate improvements with respect to the process of therapy. Specifically, examine relationships between sleep improvement, PTSD symptom improvement, and the therapeutic elements (hypnosis, exposure, cognitive therapy) to determine mechanisms of action in the intervention. It is specifically hypothesized that improvements in sleep will be positively and temporally related to improvements in PTSD symptomatology throughout treatment. Further, overall decreases in sleep impairment will indicate a temporal, positive relationship to overall improvements in psychosocial functioning and health-related concerns. Aim 4: Assess the relationship between sleep and psychophysiological reactivity to trauma-related cues and to an auditory startle probe. It is hypothesized that impairment in sleep onset and maintenance, frequency/intensity of parasomnia episodes, and overall sleep deprivation will be positively related to elevations in psychophysiological reactivity (heart-rate, skin conductance, and facial EMG) during a scripted-imagery paradigm and an auditory startle paradigm. It is further hypothesized that decreases in sleep impairment will be positively related to decreases in physiological reactivity across hypCPT treatment.