Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41359860›Full record

Trial reportJMIR mental health2025

Intrusive Memory Frequency and Related Inner Tension Following Dialectical Behavior Therapy or Cognitive Processing Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An e-Diary Study.

Sara E Schmitz, Ulrich W Ebner-Priemer, Nikolaus Kleindienst, Franziska Friedmann, Martin Bohus, Regina Steil, Meike Müller-Engelmann, Matthias F Limberger, Lisa-Marie Hartnagel, Philip Santangelo and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in JMIR mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Sara E SchmitzMental mHealth Lab, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hertzstr. 16, Karlsruhe, 76187, Germany, 49 72160841976.ORCID 0000-0003-4496-7398
Ulrich W Ebner-PriemerMental mHealth Lab, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hertzstr. 16, Karlsruhe, 76187, Germany, 49 72160841976.ORCID 0000-0002-2769-5944
Nikolaus KleindienstDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1696-2488
Franziska FriedmannDepartment of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8155-8692
Martin BohusDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1768-3608
Regina SteilInstitute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5367-5664
Meike Müller-EngelmannInstitute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0015-6983
Matthias F LimbergerMental mHealth Lab, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hertzstr. 16, Karlsruhe, 76187, Germany, 49 72160841976.ORCID 0000-0002-6332-397X
Lisa-Marie HartnagelMental mHealth Lab, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hertzstr. 16, Karlsruhe, 76187, Germany, 49 72160841976.ORCID 0000-0001-8449-4017
Philip SantangeloDepartment of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.ORCID 0000-0003-2733-701X
Kathlen PriebeDepartment for Psychiatry and Neurosciences CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2662-7509

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Intrusive memories are a core symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet their retrospective assessment is prone to biases, making real-time methods such as e-diaries essential. While trauma-focused treatments target intrusive symptoms, their efficacy has not yet been evaluated using real-time assessments. Objective: This study aimed to use e-diaries to assess and compare the effects of dialectical behavior therapy for PTSD (DBT-PTSD) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT) on intrusive memories and related inner tension in a large sample of women with childhood abuse-related PTSD and co-occurring borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Methods: In a multicenter randomized controlled trial, 193 women with PTSD related to childhood sexual or physical abuse and at least 3 BPD criteria were randomized to receive either DBT-PTSD or CPT. e-Diary assessments were conducted at 3 time points: before treatment, after 6 months, and after 12 months of therapy. At each time point, participants reported intrusive memories and related inner tension over 5 consecutive days using an event-based design. Results: Both intrusive memories and related inner tension decreased significantly over time (intrusions: ß=-0.53, P<.001; inner tension: ß=-0.15, P<.001). While reductions in intrusion frequency did not differ significantly between treatment groups (ß=0.05, P=.45), DBT-PTSD was associated with significantly greater reductions in intrusion-related inner tension compared with CPT (ß=-0.16, P<.001). Conclusions: This study provides the first real-time evaluation of trauma-focused PTSD treatments using e-diaries in daily life. Both interventions were associated with reduced intrusion frequency, while DBT-PTSD showed greater reductions in associated emotional distress-potentially reflecting its emphasis on emotion-regulation strategies and distress tolerance, which may be particularly relevant for individuals with comorbid BPD symptoms. These findings highlight the value of e-diaries for capturing treatment-related symptom change in ecologically valid contexts.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyDialectical Behavior TherapyStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticAdultBorderline Personality DisorderFemaleHumansMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeYoung Adultcognitive processing therapydialectical behavior therapyelectronic diaryintrusive memoriesposttraumatic stress disorder

Identifiers

PMID41359860
PMCPMC12685232

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.