The Effectiveness of Emotional Working Memory Training on Affective Control Ability in Adolescents with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of emotional working memory training on affective control ability inadolescent with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). The study design was a single-case multiple-baselines. Three adolescents (one male and two females) were selected by available sampling based on structured clinical interview and the Impact of Event scale (Weiss & Marmer, 1997) from one of the educational child care center of Karaj, Iran. The participants received 20 sessions of the emotional working memory training individually. The participants were assessed at three stages (pre-training, during therapy and 2-month follow up) by the Effective Control Scale (Williams, Chambless & Ahrens, 1997). Data were analyzed using the indices for trend changes, slope and the visual inspection of the charts.The Cohen's d, recovery percent index and effect size were used to determine the clinical significance. The results indicated that emotional working memory training increased the ability of affective control from pretest to follow up. The findings suggested that the emotional working memory training is an appropriate choice for increasing affective control in adolescents suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD).