Planned Dream Interventions: A Pragmatic Randomized Control Trial to Evaluate a Psychological Treatment for Traumatic Nightmares in UK Military Veterans

Abstract: Nightmares are a hallmark symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), affecting an estimated 90% of trauma-exposed adults. This article reports on a pragmatic randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of an enhanced treatment approach called Planned Dream Interventions (PDI) compared with a standard sleep hygiene intervention. Ninety-two U.K. Armed Forces veterans completed self-report measures (sleep quality, nightmares, and PTSD) pre- and 1-month post-session. Large between group effect sizes (average d = 1.1) were noted across all measures. Overall, findings suggest that PDI is a safe, resource efficient and effective intervention, though further validation is required.