Therapy Options

[bellerose]

Hi everyone!

So I just got out of a therapy(CBT) session in which my doctor and I agreed I should seek out specific treatment for my PTSD. I don't know anything about what's out there and what it would even entail. Does anyone have positive/negative experiences with specific types of PTSD therapies or treatments?

A bit about myself: I am 23, been dealing with this 11 years. No sexual or any abuse at home at all. Good strong family, but bullied A LOT at school while growing up with depression and anxiety.

Thanks guys!

 

[Crow]

I highly recommend someone trained in Somatic Experiencing. It's the best modality and the first to really help me make progress. The most important thing though is the therapeutic relationship. It took a few years for me to like my trauma specialist but we'll worth the wait.

Congratulations on making this step! It's a big deal.

 

[EveHarrington]

CBT is a typical PTSD treatment. Does your therapist mean a type of therapy to process the trauma? A bit confused that's all.

 

[bellerose]

Thanks CrowFeather! I'll definitely look that up and look into it :)

As for the CBT, I've been using it to mainly treat my depression and anxiety. My therapist said that my situation is beyond her training and she is going to do a little research as to what might be best for me. I trust her with her judgement, but I'm just curious as to what I may be in for.

 

[PureBliss]

Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, EMDR.

 

[EveHarrington]

There are indeed therapists trained to do CBT as a part of trauma therapy. Maybe that's something to look into?

 

[bellerose]

My therapist gave me a name so I'm going to call and set an appointment. Have you guys tried these methods of treatment? If so, was it beneficial to you?

 

[Abstract]

I think what suits is firstly about the t specifically being trained in trauma, and then the type of therapy suiting us as individuals. One size doesn't fit all.
If you had a strong family experience then you will hopefully find it easier to develop trust with a t.

Common therapy approaches for trauma are:
Trauma Focused CBT (different to normal CBT)
EMDR
Talk therapies (t specialising in trauma) such as integrative gestalt etc. ) These can be useful for those who find directive t problematic.
Somatic therapies.
Art and Sandtray therapies.
There are more but I can't think of them at present.

DBT, ACT and mindfulness can help for those who are struggling with self hatred, strong emotions, interpersonal problems and dissociation.

Do you have a lot of flashbacks and intrusions and do you know about basic trauma skills such as grounding? Good luck.

 

[bellerose]

Thank you so much for this information!

I don't get flashbacks, but my current therapist says I'm picking up on a lot of subtle triggers that I wasn't before due to the distraction of school (recent graduate) which caused a lot of depression and anxiety for me. Now that school is over she is has noticed my behavioral responses to normal situations is more about the trauma than depression/anxiety. My main symptom is guilt towards my family, being a better daughter/sister. So although the specific incident which initiated the trauma is there, I almost never think about it. It's the aftermath of the situation and accumulating years of guilt that really have an effect on my daily life. I don't feel I have many tools to coping with this.

I hope that makes sense.