That is my point. The four approved EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED TIER ONE THERAPIES FOR THE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF PTSD COMPRISE (INSERT ALL SORTS OF THERAPIES THAT FOCUS ON THE TRAUMA MEMORIES & DESENSITIZATION & NOT ON FORGETTING & REPRESSION).
Ok Sea, I get it... you're frustrated. Your frustration, IMO, is getting in the way of your thinking about trauma therapies and there actual application. As I recommended, you need to study what each trauma therapy is about to understand for yourself what they involve, which is not what you have concluded.
Your quote is my point... repression actually is one active part of trauma therapy under some circumstances. It is unwise to actively try and provoke the brain to remember something before the brain wants to do so, thus repression is actually a positive technique that is encouraged as part of trauma therapy.
You are broad brushing statements with therapy types, when in actuality, some aspects can be used positively. It is a case by case basis on how a person is approached.
I get the point you have broad brushed therapy types with a confusion to exposure therapy, regardless the term,
your point is a belief of exposure to focus on the trauma and to desensitise. That is incorrect for what the effective spectrum of trauma treatments do. It is not what I primarily use when helping people... yet at times it may be a small part, again, case by case basis.
The tier 1 therapies DO NOT all focus on trauma memories and desensitization... they couldn't be further from that in actuality.
Cognitive trauma therapy has nothing to do with talking about the trauma. It has to do with correcting negative, automatic, thinking styles and changing irrational thought to rational, about challenging negative thinking styles and how to produce automatic evidence, not just negative evidence or only positive evidence, but a equality to view a broader scope of an issue and its resolution... a few other aspects as well. You don't have to go anywhere near a persons trauma to correct the problems associated with present tense depression and anxiety.
The person may link to a specific element that gave them that thought to provide evidence that substantiates the thought now, however; there is no desensitisation or focus on the trauma memory itself. Most peoples problems have nothing to do with the trauma itself, it has to do with the behaviour due to automatic thoughts that the trauma has created, thus they now have within their present tense.
Some people do need to explore their trauma to desensitise themselves to negative emotion. Common in combat trauma, not as common in sexual and complex trauma, which is usually automatic negative thoughts based purely due to the trauma endured.
You don't desensitise yourself, you literally focus on changing your thought behaviour.
Stress inoculation has nothing to do with trauma focus or desensitisation either. It has to do with managing stressors in your present and future tense, how to become proactive in relaxation and self-management.
EMDR is an exposure therapy, it does desensitise and recompile traumatic memories. Prolonged exposure is also a desensitisation therapy, however; it can also be applied without going anywhere near the actual traumatic memories, and instead focus on the fears themselves that are present tense. Yes, you desensitise fear initially, then you must revert back to cognitive distortions in thinking to actually change it. Desensitisation alone with fear will not be enough to change it for longevity... you must cognitively rationalise fear into another positive emotion.
Taking on your biggest trauma does not necessarily equal, I have to relive it all, focus on the trauma and desensitise. It usually means, paint me a picture of what you find as the most traumatic, then lets explore what you feel now due to that event, and change the automatic negative emotion via positive reinforcement and thought behaviour, to neutral and positive thinking methodologies within your current daily life. Again, no focus upon the trauma or desensitisation to the trauma memories themselves. You pull apart the present tense emotional elements based from a past traumatic event, then you focus on those emotions, not on the event itself. You don't desensitise emotion, you negotiate to find rational thought which will provide neutral and positive emotion options.
Basically, living in the past is what is causing people the problem more often than not. The entire idea of trauma therapy is to get the person out of the past, and only linking specific emotion to a past event to understand that emotion, in order to change it and focus on positive emotion combined with rational thought, as negative emotion typically brings irrational thought.
The idea when done right, is that if a person can change their thought behaviour, then they can control the negative emotion trauma memories attempt to impose upon your conscious brain to affect you... thus you actually learn to put the memories away so they no longer bother you as much... which is ignoring in a positive manner, not a negative manner. You cannot forget, agreed on that point.
