Counseling for PTSD

People who are dealing with prior traumas may actually have a condition called PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) which can make it difficult to move beyond the effects of the trauma. Instead of telling others how they feel, PTSD sufferers may keep their feelings bottled up. But talking with a licensed therapist who specializes in providing counseling for PTSD can help you feel better. Boca Raton therapist, Jody Morgan, LCSW, knows that finding the right therapist is not an easy process that can be stressful and frustrating. The most effective therapy occurs when you form a professional and trusting workspace with your counselor. This is important regardless of the technique or approach a therapist may use. There are numerous types of counseling for PTSD, many of which are highly effective. One of these treatments is called CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Using CBT, a therapist helps clients deal with feelings about the past. These sessions typically occur in weekly hour-long visits for a few weeks or months or as long as it takes for you to feel better. CBT may help you have fewer PTSD symptoms over time.

There are a variety of treatments using CBT for PTSD. Examples include cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure therapy, and cognitive therapy. While there are numerous other treatment modalities for PTSD, for purposes of this article, our focus is cognitive therapy.

What is cognitive therapy?

After a traumatic event has occurred, it is common to blame oneself for things that occurred. Often, upon inquiry, we learn that these are things that the client could not have changed. For example, a person who has experienced a car accident, emotional abuse, or an assault victim might feel guilty about decisions he or she had related to an incident. Cognitive therapy assists the client in understanding the traumatic event and what parts of it were out of the client’s control. In cognitive therapy, the therapist helps a client understand and change how they think about the trauma and its aftermath. One goal is to understand how certain thoughts from a trauma cause stress and can worsen symptoms.

Learning how to identify thoughts about oneself and turning those to a heathier view is a goal of the therapy. With the help of a therapist, clients learn to replace the negative thoughts with beneficial and less distressing thoughts. Part of this is learning positive coping techniques to deal with feelings such as fear, guilt, and anger.

What is prolonged exposure therapy?

In prolonged exposure therapy, the primary objective is to have less fear about traumatic memories. It is based on the idea that people learn to fear situations, feelings, and thoughts that remind them of a particular past traumatic event. By talking about your trauma with a therapist, clients learn to get better control of their feelings and thoughts about the trauma. This is because each time a client talks about the past, they become a bit less sensitive and scared of these memories. Some clients may struggle with this approach, and it is only used if the therapist believes the client is ready and has the coping skills to work through the trauma. However, the therapy is part of a supportive and caring environment. Eventually, with ongoing therapy, clients feel less overwhelmed by the prior trauma. Clients may also practice a variety of ways to relax when experiencing a stressful memory. There are powerful breathing exercises that sometimes are complimentary to the therapy. With the help of a professional therapist, clients can change how they react to stressful memories.

What is cognitive processing therapy?

A traumatic experience can change the way clients think about themselves and how they see the world. In CPT (cognitive processing therapy), a professional therapist helps a client change thought patterns that are connected to the past trauma. CPT can involve writing exercises and cognitive therapy. CPT can be performed in individual counseling or in a group therapy setting. The therapist might ask a client to write about the traumatic event, such as the reasons the client thinks it happened and the way it affects the client’s thinking. This way, the therapist can work with the client to identify patterns of thinking with a goal toward new ways to think about the prior trauma and current reactions to it.

Through CPT sessions, clients learn how emotions and thoughts are connected. The therapist will help identify thoughts that seem to be automatic and that may be contributing to the PTSD. Ultimately the goal is to help the client learn the skills to shift these ways of thinking to alleviate the stresses associated with the traumatic event. Once clients learn these skills, they are often able to use them to help reduce PTSD symptoms even after CPT therapy has ended.

Jody Morgan, LCSW is a counselor in Boca Raton. He offers trauma and PTSD treatment, and is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP). Call Morgan Center for Counseling & Wellbeing if you have questions about Counseling for PTSD. 561-717-2900