Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress DisorderPosttraumatic stress disorder (posttraumatic stress disorder) is classified as an solicitude disorder that can develop after an individual has observed and/or experienced an extreme traumatic event that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury to ones self or another (APA, 2000). An extreme traumatic event can include, but is not limited to, military combat, terrorist attacks, natural or manmade disasters, sexual assault, physical assault, robbery, and torture (APA, 2000). The type of traumatic event could influence the way in which medical exam and mental health care professionals assess, conceptualize, and subsequently cover the individuals with a PTSD diagnosis. For this reason, sexual assault, as the traumatic event that led to the development of a PTSD diagnosis, will be the focus of discussion. The current statistics on sexual assault exemplify the need to focus on this particular population. For example every ii minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, and each year there are about 213, 000 survivors of sexual assault (RAINN, 2009). The purpose of this paper, then, is to explore how cognitive-behavioral therapies assess, conceptualize, and treat clients with a sexual assault history and a PTSD diagnosis. Treatment Components of Cognitive-Behavioral TherapyThe treatment components of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that are typically utilized in the treatment for PTSD include psychoeducation, lengthen exposure and/or in vivo exposure, cognitive restructuring, and anxiety management (Harvey, Bryant, & Tarrier, 2003). PsychoeducationPsychoeducation includes providing the client with information about the common symptomology that may be experien... ... conceptualize, and treat clients with a sexual assault history and a PTSD diagnosis. The sexual traumatic event, experienced by the client, may elicit negative PTSD-related cognitions that are perpetua ted by avoidant behavior. Prolonged exposure, in vivo exposure, and cognitive restructuring can challenge and correct such negative cognitions and avoidant behaviors. Psychoeducation can provide information, as well as a rationale about therapy, whereas anxiety management training can provide coping skills to engage in exposure and cognitive restructuring interventions. In general, cognitive-behavioral therapies can provide the means by which to assess, conceptualize, and treat clients, and has also shown to be efficacious (Dobson, 2010 Dobson & Dobson, 2009 Foa et al., 1999 Foa & Rauch, 2004 Harvey, Bryant, & Tarrier, 2003 McDonagh et al., 2005 Roman, 2010).