“Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), specifically exposure therapy, has garnered a great deal of empirical support in the literature for the treatment of anxiety disorders” (Gerardi et al., 2010). Exposure therapy is an established PTSD treatment (Chambless & Ollendick, 2001) and so is a benchmark for comparing other therapies (Taylor et al, 2003). “Exposure therapy typically involves the patient repeatedly confronting the feared stimulus in a graded manner, either in imagination or in vivo. Emotional processing is an essential component of exposure therapy” (Gerardi et al., 2010). “Exposure therapy in the virtual environment allows the participant to experience a sense of presence in an immersive, computer-generated, three-dimensional, interactive environment that minimizes avoidance behavior and facilitates emotional involvement” (Gerardi et al., 2010). This therapy has been thought to be more effective because it better accesses people’s emotions to their traumatic event. EMDR is where the participant was asked to recall the memory and its associated and then lateral sets of eye movements were induced by the therapist moving her finger across the participant's field of vision (Taylor et al., 2003).
Marks, Lovell, Noshirvani, Livanou, and Thrasher (1998) did their study on the, “Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder by Exposure and/or Cognitive Restructuring.” Marks et al. (1998) main purpose for the study was to answer questions from controlled studies of posttraumatic stress disorder concern the value of cognitive restructuring alone without prolonged exposure therapy and whether its combination with prolonged exposure is enhancing. In the study, 87 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder of at least 6 months' durat...
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...8). In the second article they concluded that after testing 3 different treatments (prolonged exposure, relaxation training, and eye movement) that exposure therapy seemed to be more effective and faster when decreasing results compared to the other treatments (Taylor et al., 2003). The results in the final study were very similar to the other two, but with a new type of exposure therapy. The third study found that even though VR is in its preliminary stages it is still effective in treating subjects with PTSD (Gerardi et al., 2010). It has been effective in many different environments as it continues to grow (Gerardi et al., 2010). Overall, all three of these article have shown that Exposure therapy has produced positive results in treating subjects with PTSD, and with new advances like VR it is just going to continue to grow and help people who suffer from PTSD.
...ype of treatment available for post-traumatic stress disorder patients is psychotherapies. There are various types of psychotherapy that psychologist can use such as exposure therapy, psychoeducation or mindfulness training. In exposure therapy, the patient is recreating the traumatic event help get rid of the fear relating to the event. For example, James Francis Ryan could be put through a session where there was simulation of explosives going off or even airplane engine noises. Research by F.R. Schneier et al., 2012, found that antidepressant medication taken alongside exposure therapy was found to be more effective in treating the post-traumatic stress disorder (Sue, Sue, Sue, and Sue, 2014, p.127). Psychoeducation is also used with exposure therapy because it educates the patient with information about their disorder in order to understand it and cope with it.
R. Brewin. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Malady or Myth? N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web.
The article under review is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the DSM-5: Controversy, Change, and Conceptual Considerations by Anushka Pai, Alina M. Suris, and Carol S. North in Behavioral Sciences. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault (U.S. Department VA, 2007). PTSD can happen to anyone and many factors can increase the possibility of developing PTSD that are not under the person’s own control. Symptoms of PTSD usually will start soon after the traumatic event but may not appear for months or years later. There are four types of symptoms of PTSD but may show in different
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
Resick, P. A., & Schnicke, M. K. (2007). Cognitive therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 15(4), 321–329.
The evidence based practice model that I have selected is Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. PE is a Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorders, which focuses on cognitive-behavioral treatment program for adults who have experienced single or multiple/continuous traumas and have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This intervention consists of a course of individual therapy designed to help clients process traumatic events and reduce their PTSD symptoms as well as depression, anger and general anxiety. Treatment is individualized and usually consists of 8-15 sessions once or twice weekly for 90 minute each. The treatment length can be shortened or lengthened depending on the client (Children, Youth and Families Mental Health Evidence-Based Practice Project, 2001).
As I sit here thinking about Sandy’s story, I wonder about what was going through that little girl’s mind while she laid there on her mother’s dead body. She herself had been victimized at the hands of her perpetrator. Though the psychological effects were devastating, it makes me think that in it might have been a good thing that her brain was not fully developed. What I mean by this is because the consequences might have been worse because her body could have gone in the fight or flight mode. As Perry stated “what Sandy faced was so small and powerless, the brain was overwhelmed, which made her unable to go in fight or flight mode” (pg. 49). My interpretation is that Sandy’s brain went numb or dissociated from the threat.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy is a unique approach to therapy that neither focuses on the past nor the future but on what is possible now. SFBT is a post modern approach to therapy that became popular in the 1960's and 70s based on the theory that posits small progress can lead to long term change. This approach was created by...creatorsThe clients and the counselor collaborate to establish realistic goals that can be reached in a relatively short period of time. The counselor works to create an environment where clients can be honest. SFBT believe that analyzing problems is not needed in the process of change. Behavior change is seen as an integral part of change in clients therapeutic process. Both the counselor and the client come together to create goals to incite a change in behavior.
An American psychologist called Francine Shapiro developed The Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy in the 1980s. Dr. Shapiro was born on February 18th, 1948, she is currently 67 years old. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the Professional School of Psychological Studies in San Diego, California (Shapiro, 2015). Dr. Shapiro is a senior research fellow at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California (Shapiro, 2015). This therapy was created for the treatment of psychological traumas which led to controlled research studies about EMDR therapy (Trauma Recovery, 2015). She works in Northern California as a licensed clinical psychologist and author (Shapiro,
Namely the creation of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) which aims to get similar results as the traditional exposure therapy without using any real objects or animals, but creating them in the computer. Psychologists can use various technology to conduct the exposure therapy. A study by Krijn, Emmelkamp, Biemond, de Ligny, Schuemie, & van der Mast (2004) researched the effectiveness of virtual exposure therapy and the differences between computer automatic virtual environment and a head-mounted display. Participants were people suffering from acrophobia. They found no difference in effectiveness between the two designs and that virtual exposure participants had less anxiety than patients with no treatment. Furthermore, these results were maintained in the follow-up after 6 months. Also, a meta-analysis was conducted by Morina et al. (2015) which researched several studies and their results with the aim to see how effective VRET can be compared to usual exposure therapy. They studied 14 clinical studies and found that patients did significantly better after the VRET than before and this applied for their follow-ups as well. In addition, results of behavioural assessment showed no significant differences between exposure in vivo and VRET. These findings support the application of VRET when treating specific
Studies show that TF-CBT has been effective when working with children and reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and behavior problems following trauma (Cary & McMillen, 2011). Bisson and Andrew (2009) state through systematic review of adults, TF-CBT performed eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) and outperformed other treatments. The Kauffman Best Practices Project (2004) believes that TF-CBT is the “best practice” in the field of child abuse treatment.
According to Sharf, (2008) the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) was designed to treat posttraumatic stress disorder. EMDR requires that the clients visualize an upsetting memory and accompanying physical sensations. The clients repeat negative self-statements that they associate with the scene. The procedure is repeated again and again until the client’s anxiety is reduced. EMDR focuses on desensitizing strong emotional reasons in clients and help them to reframe their belief systems to accommodate new emotional states (Sharf, 2008).
Schiraldi, G. R. (2009). The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook: A guide to healing, recovery, and growth. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Treatments for PTSD cannot erase your memory of those events,” (Tull) and, “That said, it is important to remember that symptoms of PTSD can come back again” (Tull). Even though it cannot be cured, it can be treated effectively with treatment. According to mayoclinc.org, “The primary treatment is psychotherapy, but often includes medication” (None). With the help of psychotherapy and medication, people who suffer from PTSD can begin to regain their life from anxiety and
Rizzo, A. (2005). Virtual reality exposure therapy. University of Southern California Institute of Creative Technologies. Retrieved from http://ict.usc.edu/prototypes/pts/