Positive autobiographical memories in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: An exploratory intervention study.

Objective: The processing of positive memories technique (PPMT) capitalizes on the content of positive autobiographical memories (AMs) to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To advance research on how and why PPMT is effective, this study examined whether and how changes in self-reported positive AM characteristics (vividness, coherence, accessibility, sensory details, visual perspective, emotional intensity, sharing, valence, psychological distance) associated with changes in PTSD symptom severity across PPMT sessions. Method: Seventy individuals were recruited from the community (Mage = 30.44 ± 12.78; 71.4% of participants identified as White, 72.9% identified as female) and received four sessions of PPMT. They completed surveys at baseline (pre-PPMT), at each PPMT session (Sessions 1–4), and 1 week after attending all PPMT sessions (post-PPMT). Results: Paired samples t tests indicated a decrease in PTSD symptom severity pre- to post-PPMT (p <.001, g = −0.91). Linear regression models indicated that improvements in participants’ ease of accessing positive AMs (β = −0.29, p =.015) and in the coherence of the positive AM narratives (β = −0.29, p =.013) from PPMT Sessions 1 to 4 were associated with decreases in PTSD severity pre- to post-PPMT. Conclusions: Further studies should investigate whether targeting improved access to positive AMs and improved abilities to construct coherent narratives of those events could mechanistically reduce PTSD symptoms among participants receiving PPMT.