Treatments

** Therapies for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ** There are various types of therapies available for individuals with PTSD. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), group therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy (CAMH, 2009). Exposure therapy and EMDR are two types of therapy that are often used to treat PTSD.

** Exposure therapy ** Exposure therapy is the one of the most effective treatments for PTSD. It is a cognitive behavioural approach that involves different kinds of exposure; imagining the traumatic event, or an in vivo (real life) exposure to a distressing trigger. When imagining the traumatic event, individuals s are asked to recall as many details as possible (sights, smells, sounds) as well as any thoughts or feelings they experienced. The clinician helps the individual to focus on processing the traumatic thoughts and also asks the person to rate their level of distress. This process is repeated several times during a session, and a tape recording of the session is made so that the person can listen to it between sessions. Imaginal exposure is used to target distressing memories and thoughts related to the traumatic event.

In vivo exposure involves the individual confronting physical cues that trigger distress and anxiety, but doing so in a safe environment. For example driving in a vehicle, for a person that has been in a car accident. The individual is asked to develop a list of physical cues that cause them distress, such as people, places, smells and sounds, and then is asked to rank each cue on how much distress they feel. The individual is asked to confront the distressing cue for about 45 minutes or until their distress level drops in half. This process is repeated several times until the cue no longer produces a high level distress response. Exposure therapy has also been seen to be very effective for co-occurring PTSD and alcohol dependence. (Baschnagel et. al, 2006)

**Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) ** Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)is a form of therapy used in the treatment of trauma-related disorders. It often involves imaginal exposure, where the individual is asked to recall the traumatic event and all of the negative emotions and cognitions associated with it. While doing so, the individual is asked to quickly move his or her eyes laterally back and forth, following the therapist’s finger. Other forms of alternating stimulation include auditory or tactile (taps, tones etc.) This process is repeated until the individual has desensitized to the distressing item and positive cognitions have replaced negative ones (Wilson et. al., 1995).