Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Mental illness triggered by an outside, traumatizing event that one has witnessed or experienced. Some people can’t stop reliving the event and it affects daily function. Examples of PTSD include rape, combat, child abuse, assault, threats, domestic violence. PTSD symptoms are variable and may include Avoidance, Intrusive, recurrent memories, Emotional reactivity and Cognitive changes in mood and thinking. High comorbidity with other mental illness. Psychotherapy is critical for treatment in recognizing patterns of thinking and getting “unstuck” in emotional states.

How Can Treatment Help?

There are a variety of treatments and medications that can be used to help PTSD. There are three specific techniques that are evidence-based that help manage PTSD:

• Cognitive Processing Therapy – This modality focuses on how a person perceives a traumatic event and processes it. A therapist can help their client work through stuck points, which are certain thoughts related to the trauma that prevents the person from recovering. 
• EMDR – EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. This technique uses bilateral sensory input such as side-to-side eye movements to stimulate the brain to process difficult thoughts, memories, and emotions.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – CBT is a form of talk therapy that focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related to one another. The goal of a CBT therapist is to help a client with PTSD return to a place of hope with a greater sense of being in control of their thoughts and behaviors.