Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for PTSD

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Cognitive behaviour therapies (CBT) are a type of psychotherapy that is very effective. CBT for PTSD includes cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure therapy, and stress inoculation therapy (described below).

Cognitive Processing Therapy is a cognitive behavioural therapy that is evidence-based and specifically designed to treat PTSD and comorbid symptoms. It focuses on transforming painful negative emotions (such as shame, guilt, and so on) and beliefs (such as "I have failed;" "the world is dangerous") brought on by trauma. Therapists assist patients in confronting such distressing memories and emotions.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET) employs repeated, detailed imaginings of the trauma or progressive exposures to symptom "triggers" in a safe, controlled setting to assist a person in confronting and gaining control of fear and distress, as well as learning to cope. Virtual reality programmes, for example, have been used to help war veterans suffering from PTSD relive the battlefield in a safe and therapeutic setting.

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapyis a research-based treatment model for children and adolescents that combines trauma-sensitive interventions with cognitive behavioural, family, and humanistic principles and techniques.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing for PTSDis a trauma-focused psychotherapy that lasts about three months. This therapy assists a person in reprocessing the memory of the trauma so that it can be experienced in a new way. After taking a thorough history and developing a treatment plan, the therapist walks the patient through questions about the traumatic memory. During a session, the patient watches the therapist's fingers move back and forth or a light bar to simulate REM sleep-like eye movements. The eye movements last only a few seconds before stopping. During a session, you may notice changes in your thoughts, images, and feelings. After several sessions, the memory begins to change and is perceived in a less negative light.

Group therapyallows survivors of similar traumatic events to share their experiences and reactions in a safe, nonjudgmental environment. Members of the group assist one another in realising that many people would have responded in the same way and felt the same emotions. Family therapy may also be beneficial because the person with PTSD's behaviour and distress can affect the entire family.

Interpersonal, supportive, and psychodynamic therapies, for example, focus on the emotional and interpersonal aspects of PTSD. These might be useful for people who don't want to be reminded of their traumas.


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Reference:

NHS Choices. (2023). Overview - Post-traumatic stress disorder. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/overview/ ‌

‌What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? (2023). Psychiatry.org. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd#:~:text=People%20with%20PTSD%20have%20intense,or%20estranged%20from%20other%20people. ‌ ‌

‌What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? (2023). Psychiatry.org. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd#:~:text=People%20with%20PTSD%20have%20intense,or%20estranged%20from%20other%20people. ‌

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