We can summarise the wide literature base on CBT’s effectiveness through these simple remarks:Įach of the above types of trauma-focussed therapies has shown significant positive treatment effects for adults with PTSD, with cognitive behaviour therapy that incorporates imaginal and in vivo exposure as well as cognitive restructuring having received the most attention. Six studies compared EMDR to waitlist controls and a further 9 studies compared EMDR to treatment as usual or another intervention (see Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, 2013a). The recent literature review of the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health identified 29 studies comparing TFCBT to waitlist or control conditions, and a further 38 studies which compared TFCBT to treatment as usual or another intervention. All of them aim to address the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural sequelae of exposure to traumatic events. These psychological interventions are short-term and structured the techniques include: exposure therapy/prolonged exposure (PE), systematic de-sensitisation, cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive therapy, narrative exposure therapy (NET), stress inoculation therapy (SIT), a suite of anxiety management techniques (including relaxation training, distraction techniques, and positive self-talk) and EMDR (which we will include under its own subheading). Although it often includes psychoeducation and symptom management strategies (notably arousal reduction), the “variations on a theme” are predominantly characterised by different emphases on exposure to traumatic memories and/or cognitive restructuring. Trauma-focussed therapy involves direct engagement with the traumatic memory. As trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy (TFCBT), its effectiveness has been reported in several reviews and meta-analyses (American Psychiatric Association, 2004 Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, 2013a Bisson & Andrew, 2007 Schnyder, 2005). The most widely studied therapy of all, CBT, has demonstrated efficacy (in its multitudinous forms) as a treatment for PTSD. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for trauma In this article, we explore the use the CBT and CBT-related therapies to treat trauma. These are: cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement de-sensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), and psychodynamic psychotherapy. While the therapy-types on offer to treat PTSD abound, three different types of psychotherapeutic approaches come up again and again in the literature as workable and appropriate for trauma. A solid therapeutic alliance and positive client expectations towards the treatment are positively associated with treatment outcome (Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, 2013a).
TRAUMA FOCUSED CBT PROFESSIONAL
The job of the professional working with such clients is to contain and deal with the trauma. Whichever therapy is selected, traumatised clients are severely distressed thus, the therapist must have highly developed relational and supportive skills in addition to knowledge about treatment methods that will be appropriate and effective. In a further meta-analysis of 17 studies (690 subjects), psychotherapeutic treatment was found to be effective, with symptomology significantly decreased (Sherman, 1998, in Knauss & Schofield, 2008). Two-thirds (67 percent) of the completers no longer met criteria for PTSD.
One meta-analysis of 26 studies (1535 subjects) employing different psychotherapeutic approaches found that four out of five clients (79 percent) completed treatment. If you were to have a traumatised client, which type of therapy would you choose to treat them? On what would you base your decision? Research tells us that there is choice. Psychotherapeutic interventions for PTSD have significant empirical support.
0 kommentar(er)
