Numerical Distraction Therapy: Initial Assessment of a Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Abstract

The efficacy of a new therapy, numerical distraction therapy (NDT), in treating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was investigated. It was hypothesized that the therapy would change the traumatic visual memories of PTSD patients and reduce the intensity of negative feelings associated with them. Both hypotheses were supported: 92% of patients reported post-treatment (positive) changes in their visual memories, and these same patients reported diminished levels of fear, shame, anxiety and other negative feelings. A subsample of patients reported stable treatment effects in follow-up surveys conducted two to four months later. The author also discusses possible mechanisms of NDT and suggests that NDT, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and some forms of thought field therapy (TFT) might have "dual attention" as a common underlying mechanism.

Counting during recall: Taxing of working memory and reduced vividness and emotionality of negative memories

“…This also suggests that WM taxing during recall affects the reconsolidation of that memory. The present findings help to understand preliminary clinical findings that 'numerical distraction' during recall of traumatic incidents ameliorates PTSD (Isaacs, 2004). Retrieval-only was followed by small and non-significant increases in emotionality and vividness (see Figure 2).…”

Solving the mystery of intrusive flashbacks in posttraumatic stress disorder: Comment on Brewin (2014).

“…Therefore, it is unclear to what extent the effects predicted by the dual representation theory concerning concurrent verbal tasks also relate to engaging the central executive in addition to modality specific verbal processes within the phonological loop. It is also interesting that more cognitively based theories would predict that engaging verbal processes and counting backward in 3 s and 7 s should decrease rather than increase subsequent intrusions and distress associated with them, as was indeed reported by Isaacs (2004; see also Pearson & Sawyer, 2011;van den Hout et al, 2010). It is therefore important that future research systematically compares the predictions of the dual representation theory and general theories of cognitive load and working memory, using a trauma-film paradigm with both analogue and clinical samples (see below).…”

“…Recent findings by Pearson and Sawyer (2011) seem to provide initial support for this conjecture, even though they used emotional pictures instead of a trauma film (which could have affected the results, as pointed out by Brewin, 2014). However, Isaacs (2004) has reported similar results using the so-called numerical distraction therapy with 26 patients with PTSD, who, as part of their therapy session, had to hold in mind their intrusive images while simultaneously completing a demanding counting task (counting backward in 2 s from 10 to 0 and then up to 10 again). It is clear that more systematic research is needed to address this important question.…”

Working memory load reduces facilitated processing of threatening faces: An ERP study.

“…In a recent series of experiments (Gunter & Bodner, 2008), performing horizontal or vertical eye movements, an auditory shadowing task, or a drawing task while holding an unpleasant autobiographical memory in mind all decreased the vividness, emotionality, and completeness of those memories relative to an eyes stationary control condition. In addition, other research demonstrated that tapping (Andrade, Kavanagh & Baddeley, 1997), or holding digits in mind (Isaacs, 2004) rather than making eye movements proved to be as effective as EMDR. Gunter and Bodner (2008) therefore proposed that the beneficial effects of EMDR and similar treatments on memory intrusions may be due to reduced attention to trauma-related material.…”