The Impact of Personality Disorders on Treatment Outcome for Veterans in a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Residential Treatment Program

This study evaluated the effect of comorbid personality disorders on treatment outcome for male and female Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One hundred and sixty-six Veterans participated in a PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program, which included cognitive processing therapy (CPT) provided in a combined individual and group format. Sixty-six percent of participants met criteria at pre-treatment for at least one personality disorder. No difference was found between participants with and without personality disorders on pre-treatment demographic variables, self-reported PTSD symptoms, or clinician-assessed PTSD symptoms. However, differences were found between the groups on self-reported depression symptoms. When controlling for pre-treatment self-reported depression symptoms, results indicated that both groups had significant reductions on PTSD outcome measures, regardless of the presence of a personality disorder. Additionally, a comparable number of participants with and without personality disorders no longer met criteria for PTSD following treatment. Findings suggest that Veterans with personality disorders can benefit from a CPT-based PTSD residential program.