After a traumatic event occurs, a natural response is for a person to have uncomfortable memories of the event, even when they do not want to or experience distress/discomfort/sadness due to the trauma. Over time, as people continue to process these memories and emotions, these experiences become less intense, and their distress about the traumatic event begins to dissipate.
But sometimes, people are afraid or unwilling to think about the traumatic event or experience their negative emotions. When this happens, a person may engage in avoidance, pushing away negative images related to the trauma, avoiding people who remind them of the event, or distracting themselves from painful emotions, such as by drinking large quantities of alcohol. Because thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all related and influence each other (see what is CBT), someone might develop negative beliefs about themselves and the world, feel irritated or on edge, have trouble sleeping, and engage in reckless behaviors. People become stuck. They are caught in an endless cycle of avoiding thoughts and feelings related to the traumatic event and dealing with increased distress as a result. The result is the development of PTSD.
Treatment for PTSD is incredibly effective, and between 80% and 90% of the general population will experience remission from PTSD following effective treatment. What’s more, once people get better, they tend to stay better, and we do not often see relapses of PTSD. One effective way of treating PTSD is by using prolonged exposure (PE) therapy. PE therapy, when applied to PTSD, asks the patient to purposefully revisit and recall the traumatic event and memories, experience the negative emotions that come up, and allow those emotions to decrease naturally. In the same way exposure was described above, PE therapy works by reducing our emotional response to things we previously feared. Think of the first time you watched a scary movie; it was probably terrifying! But what about the next time? Or the time after that? How about the 20th time you watched the movie? It got less scary because you knew what would happen at the end, and you were not afraid to relive it because you processed that fear. There is mounting evidence that PE works, and works really well, to treat PTSD.
Another way to treat PTSD is the use of cognitive-processing therapy (CPT), which is very similar to CBT and has also been effective at reducing trauma-related distress. Oftentimes, those who are feeling “stuck” due to a traumatic event develop negative and inaccurate beliefs about themselves, others, and the world. They may feel they were responsible for the trauma, or they should have done something differently to prevent it. These beliefs, called “stuck points,” can cause someone to feel additional negative emotions, such as guilt or shame. CPT works similarly to CBT by challenging negative beliefs and replacing them with more realistic beliefs. CPT also centers around five themes many people develop stuck points around following a traumatic event: safety, trust, power and control, intimacy, and esteem.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Assessment Associates
