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This study found that prolonged exposure therapy was more effective than supportive counseling in sexual abuse-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Comment: In brief, exposure therapy in this case consisted of 8 modules presented to the patient over a span of several weeks. 1) presentation of exposure therapy rationale. 2) information gathering including identification of an index trauma. In addition, begin a breathing retraining exercise. 3) a presentation of common reactions to trauma. 4) discussion with patient of the rationale for confronting trauma in real life, and how to deal with it. 5) imaging exercises. 6) imaging of the worst moments of the trauma. 7) learning how to generalize skills gained in the previous modules. 8) wrap-up of lessons learned. More information is on Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/MAyWVI) and the VA website for PTSD in veterans (http://1.usa.gov/MAz3kf). JAMA. 2013 Dec 25;310(24):2650-7    (retrieved Feb, 2014). There are currently 1090 pearls in the database. While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy, mistakes can and do occur. Use databank at your own risk. All pearls © 2024 by the Internet Medical Association. Click Here to view more medical pearls.