PTSD (POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER)
PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Trauma is any event in which you feel like your life or your body is threatened (or that of someone close to you).
Common examples of trauma are a bad car accident, natural disaster, sexual assault, or someone close to you unexpectedly dying. When we experience trauma, our brain and body can go through a natural process to try to protect us from danger. However, when this process continues for more than a month, it might be a sign of PTSD. PTSD can limit our lives in unhelpful ways.
Common symptoms of PTSD
If you’re experiencing several of the symptoms listed below, then you might have PTSD. Therapy could help your brain to process the traumatic event in more helpful ways over time, and reduce your fear.
Signs therapy might help you heal from trauma:
frequent memories of the trauma bother you
nightmares related to the event
feeling like the trauma is happening again (flashbacks)
reminders of the event bother you
avoiding thoughts or feelings about the trauma
avoiding people or places related to the event
avoiding talking about it
cannot remember parts of the trauma
negative beliefs about yourself, the world, or others
blaming yourself
increase in fear, anger, guilt, or shame
less interest in activities you used to enjoy
feeling detached from people
difficulty experiencing happiness or feelings of love
Evidence-Based Treatment for PTSD in Adults:
Research shows Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) can be effective in treating PTSD in adults. However, PE and CPT have relatively more research indicating they might be effective in treating PTSD than EMDR. Moreover, a study of 916 adults through the Veterans Affairs (VA) indicated that PE might be slightly more effective than CPT at treating PTSD. As its names suggests, PE tends to focus on facing fears through imaginal and in vivo exposure, while also learning and developing more helpful beliefs related to the trauma and ways of coping with anxiety, such as deep breathing. CPT tends to focus on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts to aid in healing. You can talk to your trauma therapist about which treatment you both think would best suit you.
Evidence-Based Treatment for PTSD in Children:
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) has the most research behind it in treating children. It has been shown to be effective in treating children as young as 3 years old, up to emerging adults as old as 19 years old. TF-CBT has elements of exposure that are developmentally appropriate for children but also focuses on building skills to help children regulate their emotions. Most sessions are divided into time spent with the child and time spent with a supportive adult in the child’s life, such as a parent. Sometimes play therapy is used when a child is not yet able to verbalize, draw, or write about the traumatic event.
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