Outcome of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Adolescents After Natural Disaster

PURPOSE: The authors evaluated the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) among adolescents exposed to the 2004 earthquake in Bam, Iran. METHODS: Four months after the earthquake, 135 adolescents as a case group and 33 adolescents as a comparison group were evaluated with the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R). Two therapists were trained in CBT in 3-day classes according to a manual provided by mental health services. After conducting CBT in the case group, both groups were evaluated again with IES-R. RESULTS: The severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms significantly decreased among the subjects given CBT in the case group. The improvement in posttraumatic stress symptoms was attributable to improvement in each of three-symptom categories (intrusion, avoidance, and arousal) and in the total score of posttraumatic stress disorder (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the efficacy of CBT in alleviating posttraumatic stress symptoms among adolescents after a catastrophic disaster.