Addressing PTSD Through Trauma Focused CBT

By Donald Cox


Childhood trauma can be particularly debilitating. Although it is often reasoned out that a particular child is too young to remember some bad experience of sorts, that is not always the case. In fact, the consequences can translate to some ramifications in his or her adult life. To prevent this, they should benefit from a trauma focused cbt Nyack.

There are many factors that lead to the formation and perception of trauma. Most likely, it has formed because of the unexpected nature of the experience, since the child or teen is not particularly prepared or cushioned for it. Therefore, the shock can be particularly debilitating. As it is, diverse events are easily traumatic when they happen during ones childhood.

Trauma, especially when incurred early, can greatly impinge on a young persons development. It affects how they deal and go through life in general. And they may act out in feelings of anger, powerlessness, anxiety, depression, self blame, and guilt. It goes without saying that these feelings should not be allowed to last for long. Therefore, early intervention in the form of TFCBT is necessary.

This enterprise is also holistic. Therapists recognize that treatment ventures for merely the client are not enough. Therefore, it is imperative for the parents and guardians to be incorporated in the process, so that a good outcome is better assured. That only applies, of course, to the non offending parent or guardian.

If they are seeming bothered by recurring thoughts about a particular experience, or else are giving symptoms of emotional numbness, then these are, needless to say, striking red flags. Or else there may be symptoms that are seemingly discrete or less serious, like concentration problems and sleep issues. It is also noticeable that these traumatized persons evince extreme emotional and physical responses or general vexation upon reminder of a particular trauma inducing event.

Therefore, emotional reprocessing is imperative and necessary. Specific variations are existent, as with prolonged exposure therapy. With this kind of approach, patients reprocess the ordeal and then put it into perspective by finding import and meaning in it. As per its tenets, the mind is overloaded after occurrence of trauma, and that translates to difficulties in unburdening.

One can appreciate the considerable challenge in this enterprise. Thats essentially because of the diversity and stark difference in individual cases. One patient may have been a victim of domestic violence, or sexual assault, or gone through combat experiences, or else been at the receiving end of debilitating grief. Deep dives are necessary here, and the therapist has to be able to draw on a just as comprehensive knowledge and knowhow.

Because children are naturally more adaptive, a short term intervention like TFCBT does them an inordinate good. However, there is no firm evidence on this treatments effects for adult war veterans, whose PTSD may be said, in a medical standpoint, as more complex. This is also a relatively new enterprise, founded in the 1990s as a go to therapy option for young people who have experienced sexual abuse. It goes without saying that it has expanded in its patient demographic all throughout the years.

There is a whole host of benefits to be gleaned with TFCBT. For one, the patients are taught anxiety management through relaxation. They are also taught emotional regulation and healthy expression. Proper ways of coping are integrated, as well as putting the trauma narrative into perspective and working through maladaptive thoughts like self blame. There is an in vivo exposure of sorts, so that the client may gradually desensitize himself or herself to the pain and shock of the experience. And, of course, maintaining recovery is extremely important, so that they retain the methods and coping mechanisms in future situations, and it is assured that the recovery process is smooth and consistently uphill.




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