Providing information about the condition, helping the patient manage traumatic memories by speaking about it directly, teaching the individual about ways to manage problems and issues of post-traumatic stress disorder, and evaluation of inaccurate ideas about a traumatic incident are common methods used as part of psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Educating about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Treating victims of PTSD generally involves teaching patients about what post-traumatic stress disorder is. PTSD that is brought about by extreme mental stress, is addressed by openly letting the victim know how he will be treated and what to expect in therapy.
This training thereby increases the chances that inaccurate thoughts the individual may have concerning the disorder are dispelled, and any feelings of embarrassment he might have are also minimized.
This might be particularly significant in military personnel who feel stigmatized from the concept of visiting a mental-health professional and thus avoid doing so.
Educating patients with post-traumatic stress disorder about coping with extremely intense symptoms has been demonstrated to be a useful method in treating the disorder.
Specifically, helping victims to find out how to deal with their temper and anxiety, improve their communication abilities, and adding relaxation methods could help patients with post-traumatic stress disorder gain a sense of mastery over their psychological symptoms and signs.
Treatment Options for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Cognitive treatment could assist patients with post-traumatic stress disorder in recognizing trauma-related ideas and beliefs by teaching them about the important relationships between ideas and feelings.
This type of treatment also involves: exploring negative ideas held by traumatized patients, creating alternative interpretations, and practicing new ways of looking at activities performed. Cognitive treatment also includes practicing newly-learned things in real-life scenarios.
Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of cognitive treatment in which the individual with post-traumatic stress disorder speaks about the traumatic event and the negative thoughts connected with the occurrence, all while focusing on the doctor's rapidly moving finger.
Though some research findings indicates this type of treatment could prove very useful, it's still unclear whether this is more effective than cognitive treatment alone.
Friends and family of post-traumatic stress disorder patients could benefit from family therapy, couples therapy, parenting classes, and conflict resolution sessions just as much as the patient can.
Family members could also provide relevant history about their loved one (emotions, characteristics, medication abuse, sleeping habits, socialization patterns), which the patient is otherwise unable or incapable of sharing with the doctor.
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References:
Benjamin and Virginia Sadock. (2000). “Kaplan & Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry.” Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; (7): January 15.
Chemtob CM, et al. (1997). “Anger regulation deficits in combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.” Journal of Traumatic Stress. 10 (1); 17–35.
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