Cognitive Processing Therapy…a Hope for Healing.
Trauma is, unfortunately, something that will exist in our world for many individuals. It is something that can create a devastating impact in a person’s life, developing into PTSD for many. Fortunately, through the years there have been several treatment modalities developed to create hope, healing, and coping methods to overcome such traumas. Cognitive Processing Therapy is one type of treatment that can be offered to individuals who have experienced or witnessed traumatic events.
I was fortunate enough to participate in a training for Cognitive Processing Therapy, and found the efforts to heal or cope from trauma very beneficial for those individuals who have a diagnosis of PTSD. But, how does it exactly help?
CPT focuses on how an individual thinks about the traumatic events and how those thoughts impact someone’s emotions and behavioral responses. By helping individuals identify and challenge dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs related to the trauma experienced, it can help the person lead to healthier coping mechanisms and emotional processing. The wonderful part of of CPT is that it allows someone to benefit from treatment without talking about the actual trauma. Offering the flexibility to talk or not talk about the actual traumatic experience makes the model an approachable treatment for many.
What does CPT look like?
The first step is to understand what PTSD is! If a person does not have the education around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, then it is important to clarify how this developed. Offering an understanding of how the brain processes information, how it changes when exposed to trauma, and how the brain processes after diagnosed with PTSD, can help individuals understand what has actually taken place in their bodies. The next step helps the individual identify thoughts, beliefs, and feelings that are linked to traumatic events. This then gives the person an opportunity to pay attention and recognize, as well as, address the maladaptive patterns that have developed. In this process there is an understanding of assimilations that developed and assumptions about the self, others, and the world that keep a person stuck in PSTD, Cognitive restructuring through guided exercises and homework will offer the individual to challenge and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns and offer an opportunity to create more balanced and realistic perspectives in the present moment. And finally developing healthy coping skills to mange distressing emotions and enhancing safety and trust with the self, other, and the world will be a gradual arrival towards the end of CPT therapy.
CPT offers the opportunity to reduce symptoms associated with PTSD such as avoidant behaviors, intrusive thoughts, negative moods, and hyperarousal. With a reduction of symptoms and the ability to learn healthier coping strategies it offers better functioning in the person’s day to day living. It is an evidence based approach that showed people diagnosed with PTSD also sustained the benefits of CPT for many years and helped them move forward with resilience and hope for their future.
Sahas Counseling, PLLC is ready to help and can offer CPT to you or someone you know that is struggling with trauma related symptoms.
