ALL therapy is designed to help you cope with difficult life experiences.
The following are a sampling of the types of therapy that have research backing their effectiveness, particularly with traumatic experiences and PTSD. Some of them appear to essentially do the same thing. The most important part is to find a therapist that you feel safe with to process your traumatic experiences.
This is not an exhaustive list, but is provided to help you understand most of the goals within the therapy process. They are presented in alphabetical order.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy – Prolonged Exposure (DBT – PE)
This type of therapy supports clients by providing a safe way to confront their trauma-based thoughts and feelings instead of avoiding them. People naturally avoid pain, whether it is in your mind or past or in the present. However, pain and trauma can be effectively processed in a safe, effective manner by gradually exposing you to the thoughts and actual situations that are connected to the original traumatic situation. You can read more HERE
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing(EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing has become a fundamental type of therapy that helps people who struggle with communicating their thoughts to work through different difficult experiences. This method relies on one of three methods of sensory input/distraction: visual, auditory, or tactile. This sensory input allows for rapid processing of painful past experiences in order to heal more quickly.
EMDR is the “gold standard” in treating PTSD. It is typically conducted in the therapeutic office, however, there are newer forms of EMDR that can be conducted outside of the office once you have learned some of the basic skills involved.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is exactly what it sounds like: exposure to the painful experience (sights, sounds, feelings, etc) without removing yourself from it. Our body learns to avoid pain in order to protect itself, but sometimes the painful experience can become associated with other, non-painful (but similar) experiences.This approach helps your body re-set what is painful and what is not.
Medication Therapy
Medication Therapy is taking medication to help you with managing any symptoms that may be associated with your trauma. At times, medication can be a temporary solution, other times, it may be necessary to take for a long period of time. This is done by a psychiatrist (MD) or a nurse (APRN or CNS). Review the difference HERE
Narrative Therapy
Narrative Therapy is taking the pieces of the memories that you recall and putting them into a story or a narrative. This is actually a very practical, meaningful way to process through the thoughts and feelings from your experience. Narrative therapy involves the therapist and you to collaborate and help you understand the way that you see yourself in your life. Read more HERE.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a type of thought therapy that focuses on your interpretation of yourself in relation to your experiences. If there are thoughts that could be classified as irrational (for example, “ I’m a terrible person because I sneezed“) this type of therapy helps you to find the thoughts that could be harming you more than the actual painful experience itself.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy(TF-CBT)
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is focused on the individual’s thoughts and belief systems
and the behavior that follows it.
What we think leads to what we do.
When we have experienced traumatic situations, our focus becomes the thought patterns that are connected with the trauma specifically:What are your beliefs about the traumatic situation?Do you believe that the specific situation was traumatic?What are your beliefs about yourself as a result of the traumatic situation?
However you answer the previous questions leads you to corresponding feelings, which you may or may not be aware of, which then leads you to doing specific things in order to cope. Our thought-behavioral patterns are linked and can lead to issues in your life.
