Treatment of Co-occurring PTSD and Aggression: Current Psychotherapy and Pharmacological Approaches

Purpose of review: A substantial number of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also experience problems with aggression; yet co-occurring PTSD and aggression have gained relatively little empirical attention. Given the functional impairment associated with both of these conditions, there is a clear need for empirically supported treatments that address both PTSD and aggression. The current review aims to summarize the existing literature on empirically supported treatments (including psychotherapy and psychopharmacology) for co-occurring PTSD and aggression. Recent findings: Overall, a few treatments emerge as potentially effective in addressing co-occurring PTSD and aggression. Trauma-informed treatments and transdiagnostic treatments, in particular, represent promising approaches to the treatment of co-occurring aggression and PTSD; continued examination of the efficacy of these approaches is warranted. Although empirically supported treatments for PTSD lead to reductions in aggression, these reductions are similar to those seen in comparison conditions; thus, effects of empirically supported PTSD treatments may be due to common elements across psychotherapies. The current literature on pharmacological approaches suggests limited efficacy in treating co-occurring PTSD and aggression. Summary: Taken together, the findings of this review point to a few promising treatments for co-occurring PTSD and aggression and highlight the need for continued work in this area. Researchers should work to develop novel treatments for PTSD and aggression that are grounded in a theoretical understanding of their co-occurrence. © 2023, This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.