Research suggests that cognitive processing
therapy (
CPT) may be a particularly well-suited intervention for
trauma survivors who endorse self-blame; however, no study has examined the impact of self-blame on response to
CPT. Accordingly, the current study compared response to
CPT between two groups of veterans seeking residential treatment for
posttraumatic stress disorder (
PTSD). In one group, participants endorsed low self-blame at pretreatment (n = 133) and in the other group, participants endorsed high self-blame (n = 133). Results from multilevel modeling analysis suggest that both groups experienced significant reductions in
PTSD symptoms as measured by the
PTSD Checklist, B = -1.58, SE = 0.11; 95% CI [-1.78, -1.37]; t(1654) = -14.97, p < .001. After controlling for pretreatment symptom severity and additional covariates, there was no difference in treatment response between the low- and high-self-blame groups, Time × Self-blame interaction: B = 0.18, SE = 0.12; 95% CI = [-0.06, 0.42]; t(1646) = 1.49, p = .138. This suggests that
CPT is an effective treatment for individuals exposed to
trauma, regardless of level of self-blame.