Sadie E. Larsen, Rachel M. Ranney, Rebecca A. Matteo, Kathleen M. Grubbs, & Jessica Hamblen
One main aspect of marketing is right up front—what are the treatments called? So in this study, we asked 887 people with PTSD symptoms for their initial impressions of a set of PTSD treatment names – before we gave them any other information about those treatments. The specific treatments were chosen because they are being considered for inclusion in the next update to the PTSD Treatment Decision Aid (National Center for PTSD, 2017). We first asked participants to rate those treatment names from negative (lowest) to positive (highest), and then to give us their reasons for either their top choice or their bottom choice. Here’s how the treatment names rated:
- Cognitive Processing Therapy was rated as the highest (most positive) name on average. Participants generally accurately guessed that this would be a trauma-focused treatment that would help them change unhelpful thoughts. So far, so good.
- Present-Centered Therapy was rated as the next highest treatment name on average. Participants were a little less accurate about this treatment though – they often guessed that it would help them “stay in the present moment” rather than guessing that it would help them solve day-to-day problems.
- Written Exposure Therapy was rated third highest name on average. Generally, people could guess from the name that this would involve writing about the trauma, and they were likely to mention that they thought writing was a good fit for them (or a bad fit, for those who rated it lower).
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing was more likely to be seen negatively than positively. Most participants could not accurately guess what it would entail from the name, instead guessing that something eye-related would occur (unrelated to actual EMDR procedures, e.g., eye surgery). The name was often judged to sound unpleasant, stressful, confusing, or too technical.
- Prolonged Exposure was rated very poorly as a treatment name. Participants quite often mis-judged what the treatment would entail, for instance interpreting “prolonged” as referring to the trauma duration, or interpreting “exposure” as something with no therapeutic potential. Some specifically noted that the term “prolonged exposure” is used in a public health context to indicate something that should be avoided for one’s health (e.g., extreme cold).
Interestingly, we also asked how participants interpreted the generic term “trauma-focused therapy,” which is used in some public education materials. This term was generally rated positively, accurately interpreted, and perceived as being the most straightforward and clear name of the list.
Altogether, our results indicated to us that the way our most effective therapies are named may at best be confusing as to what they are and at worst may be a barrier to treatment engagement. What can be done about this? Some treatment developers have actually taken steps to change their names. For example, Cognitive Processing Therapy has a new self-help workbook called “Getting Unstuck from PTSD” (Resick et al., 2023). Newer treatments have focused on the goals of treatment when naming treatments, such as “COPE” (Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure; Back et al., 2014). As providers, though, we suggest being more intentional in how we describe treatments to our clients. It may be best to describe the treatments in plain language without initially naming them. Once clients have a clear understanding of the treatment, then the name can be used without the concern that it may negatively impact the client’s decision to engage in care.
Discussion Questions
- How important do you think it is to use the technical name of the treatment? While it may be off-putting, it might also be important to some clients to be able to look it up and read more about it, which would be hard without the specific name.
- If you had a magic wand, what would you name the PTSD treatment options mentioned above, in order to help patients understand what they entail?
- Why do you think some treatment names are more likely to be accurately interpreted than others? Why do you think some treatment names are viewed more positively than others?
- What are the pros and cons of having two names for each treatment (a technical name and a public-facing name)?
About the Authors
Sadie E. Larsen, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who works on the Education Team at the Executive Division of the National Center for PTSD, where she works to disseminate information about effective treatments for PTSD to providers and patients. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Follow Dr. Larsen on X @Sadie_E_Larsen
Rachel M. Ranney, Ph.D., is a staff psychologist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California San Francisco.
Rebecca A. Matteo, Ph.D., is a medical sociologist who works on the Education and Communication Teams at the National Center for PTSD, Executive Division. Her primary role is Web Content Manager, where she works to offer scientific information to diverse audiences using plain language and inclusive language principles as web content and short videos.
Kathleen M. Grubbs, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist at the Central Arkansas VA Healthcare System and Center for Mental Health Outcomes Research in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences. Follow Dr. Grubbs on X @katymgrubbs
Jessica Hamblen, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and the Deputy Director for Education at the Executive Division of the National Center for PTSD. She is also an Associate Professor in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Reference Article
Larsen SE, Ranney RM, Matteo R, Grubbs KM, Hamblen JL. What's in a treatment name? How people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms interpret and react to PTSD treatment names. J Trauma Stress. 2025 Feb;38(1):112-123. doi: 10.1002/jts.23108. Epub 2024 Oct 21. PMID: 39432415.
References Cited
Back, S. E., Killeen, T. K., Mills, K. L., & Cotton, B. D. (2014). Concurrent treatment of PTSD and substance use disorders using prolonged exposure (COPE): Therapist guide. Oxford University Press, USA.
National Center for PTSD. (2017, June). PTSD Decision Aid. Veterans Affairs Health Care. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/decisionaid/
Resick, P. A., Stirman, W., S., & LoSavio, S. T. (2023). Getting Unstuck from PTSD; Using Cognitive Processing Therapy to Guide your Recovery. The Guilford Press.