Using CBT to Probe Psychobiobehavioral Resilience to Post-trauma Psychopathology

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• fluent in English
• history of childhood interpersonal trauma (e.g., sexual assault, physical assault, witnessing assault before age 18)
• mild to moderate distress indicated by a score of 10-20 on the depression scale, 8-14 on the anxiety scale, or 15-25 on the stress scale of the DASS-21.

Exclusion criteria

• severe distress indicated by a score >20 on the depression scale, >14 on the anxiety scale, or >25 on the stress scale of the DASS-21
• DSM-5 criterion A trauma in the past month
• color blindness based on self-report (because of inability to complete the fear conditioning task)
• auditory impairment based on audiometer screening (because of inability to complete the fear conditioning task)
• lifetime psychotic or bipolar disorder
• substance abuse or dependence within past 6 months
• concurrent psychotherapy initiated within 3 months of randomization
• ongoing psychotherapy of any duration directed toward treatment of trauma-related psychopathology (e.g., CBT)
• must be on a stable dose of psychotropic or adrenergically-active medications (e.g., beta blockers) for at least 6 weeks prior to eligibility screening
• mental retardation or significant cognitive impairment
• serious medical illness or instability for which hospitalization may be likely within the next year
• significant suicidal ideation indicated by "yes" on Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale item 4 (active suicidal ideation with some intent to act) or enacted suicidal behaviors within 6 months prior to eligibility
• current legal actions related to trauma.