The persistence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can be debilitating. However, many people experiencing such symptoms may not qualify for or may not seek treatment. Potentially contributing to ongoing residual symptoms of PTSS is emotion dysregulation. Meanwhile, the research area of mindfulness and compassion has grown to imply emotion regulation as one of its underlying mechanisms; yet, its influence on emotion regulation in PTSS cohort is unknown. Here, we explored the potential effectiveness of an 8-week Compassion-oriented and Mindfulness-based Exposure Therapy (CoMET) for individuals with PTSS using a waitlist control design. A total of 28 individuals (27 females, age range = 18–39 years) participated in the study (17 CoMET; 11 waitlist control). Following CoMET, participants reported significant decreases in PTSS severity (from clinical to non-clinical levels), emotion dysregulation and experiential avoidance, as well as significant increases in mindfulness, self-compassion and quality of life. Electroencephalogram-based brain network connectivity analysis revealed an increase in alpha-band connectivity following CoMET in a network that includes the amygdala, suggesting that CoMET successfully induced changes in functional connectivity between brain regions that play a crucial role in emotion regulation. In sum, the current study demonstrated promising intervention outcomes of CoMET in effectively alleviating the symptoms of PTSS via enhanced emotion regulation.

中文翻译：

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为期 8 周的基于同情心和正念的暴露疗法计划可改善创伤后应激症状

持续存在的创伤后应激症状（PTSS）可能会让人衰弱。然而，许多出现此类症状的人可能不符合或不会寻求治疗。情绪失调可能会导致 PTSS 持续残留症状。与此同时，正念和同情心的研究领域已经发展到暗示情绪调节是其基本机制之一。然而，它对 PTSS 人群情绪调节的影响尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用候补名单控制设计，探讨了为期 8 周的同情导向和正念暴露疗法 (CoMET) 对 PTSS 患者的潜在有效性。共有 28 人（27 名女性，年龄范围 = 18-39 岁）参与了该研究（17 名 CoMET；11 名候补对照）。CoMET 后，参与者报告 PTSS 严重程度（从临床水平到非临床水平）、情绪失调和体验性回避显着下降，并且正念、自我慈悲和生活质量显着提高。基于脑电图的大脑网络连接分析显示，CoMET 后，包括杏仁核在内的网络中 α 带连接性增加，这表明 CoMET 成功诱导了在情绪调节中发挥关键作用的大脑区域之间功能连接的变化。总之，当前的研究表明 CoMET 通过增强情绪调节有效缓解 PTSS 症状的干预效果良好。