According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD affects approximately 3.6% of adults in the United States in the past year. However, lifetime prevalence is estimated to be greater, and PTSD can affect anyone at anytime in their lives.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder may result from directly experiencing or witnessing traumatic events. It may result from one trauma or, alternatively, multiple and repeated exposure to traumatic events. Traumatic events can include (and are not limited to):
- Natural disasters
- Serious accidents
- Terrorist acts, war/combat
- Rape/sexual assault
- Historical trauma
- Intimate partner violence
- Bullying
People who experience traumatic events may have symptoms that may cause them significant distress and impact their daily functioning. These can include:
- Intrusive thoughts about the event(s) including memories, flashbacks, nightmares/dreams that seem very vivid and as if the experience is happening again
- Avoiding reminders of the event(s). This can include people, places, activities, objects, thoughts about the event, and may avoid talking about the event.
- Changes in thoughts and mood such as negative thoughts and feelings about oneself, difficulties remembering parts of the event(s), feelings of fear, anger, guilt, and shame, feeling detached from others, and having less interest in activities once enjoyed.
- Changes in arousal and reactivity. This can include hypervigilance or heightened awareness/suspicions of one’s surroundings, irritability and angry outbursts, problems sleeping or focusing.
There is hope for those who have experienced traumatic event(s) and are suffering from traumatic stress symptoms.
At the Anxiety and Behavioral Health Center, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD is offered on an individual basis to folks as young as 14 years old. CPT is one of the most effective empirically-based gold standard treatments for PTSD, helping trauma survivors to recover over the course of short-term treatment. It is appropriate for individuals who have experienced a single trauma or multiple traumas.
CPT at the Anxiety and Behavioral Health Center is comprised of approximately 12 to 15 weekly 60-minute one-on-one sessions. For successful treatment to occur, patients must complete independent work between sessions designed to reduce and resolve symptoms. During sessions, your therapist will help you understand PTSD and its symptoms, understand the impact the trauma has had on your life, and work with you to eliminate avoidance, explore current and alternative beliefs about the trauma, and reduce symptoms.
