Effective Treatment

Other treatments include:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) involves working with cognitions to change emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Exposure therapy is one form of CBT that is unique to trauma treatment. It uses careful, repeated, detailed imagining of the trauma (exposure) in a safe, controlled context to help the survivor face and gain control of the fear and distress that was overwhelming during the trauma. In some cases, trauma memories or reminders can be confronted all at once ("flooding"). For other individuals or traumas, it is preferable to work up to the most severe trauma gradually by using relaxation techniques and by starting with less upsetting life stresses or by taking the trauma one piece at a time ("desensitization").¹³

Along with exposure, CBT for trauma includes:

• learning skills for coping with anxiety (such as breathing retraining or biofeedback) and negative thoughts ("cognitive restructuring"),
• managing anger,
• preparing for stress reactions ("stress inoculation"),
• handling future trauma symptoms,
• addressing urges to use alcohol or drugs when trauma symptoms occur ("relapse prevention"), and
• communicating and relating effectively with people (social skills or marital therapy). ¹³

Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy (medication) can reduce the anxiety, depression, and insomnia often experienced with PTSD, and in some cases, it may help relieve the distress and emotional numbness caused by trauma memories. Several kinds of antidepressant drugs have contributed to patient improvement in most (but not all) clinical trials, and some other classes of drugs have shown promise. At this time, no particular drug has emerged as a definitive treatment for PTSD. However, medication is clearly useful for symptom relief, which makes it possible for survivors to participate in psychotherapy. ¹³