Utility of the heart rate response as an index of emotional processing in a female rape victim with posttraumatic stress disorder Original Research Article

We tested the utility of the heart rate response as an indicator of emotional processing in prolonged exposure therapy for a female rape victim. Physiological data, for the first and the last available imaginal exposure to the rape, showed that the heart rate response was a useful index of successful activation and habituation of fear structures during therapy. The results suggest that the heart rate response may provide an objective and unbiased assessment of emotional processing that is not dependent on either self-report or interviewer-based assessments.