Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
If you are an adult, your life has been changed by a traumatic event, and you have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (distressing memories, intrusive thoughts, intense emotions, distress, flashbacks, avoidance, emotional numbing with loss of interest, sleep disturbances, nightmares, difficulty with concentration, irritability/ anger, hypervigilance, excessive startle response and have encountered situations that increase those distressing memories, that have persisted for over three months), then Prolonged Exposure Therapy may be a helpful treatment for you.
Prolonged Exposure is evidence-based. It has over twenty years of research that support the efficacy of Prolonged Exposure as a treatment for PTSD. Studies have shown that Prolonged Exposure reduces PTSD, and other trauma-related problems - depression, anxiety, anger and guilt. Prolonged Exposure is approved by the Veteran's Administration (VA) as an effective therapy for veteran's with PTSD. Prolonged Exposure Therapy is effective for other traumas as well - (veterans, victims of crimes including rape, domestic violence, kidnapping, adults exposed to violence as children and other trauma).
Criteria for Prolonged Exposure Therapy
1. Meet criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, with or without other related problems
2. You have sufficient memory of the traumatic event
3. You are not actively suicidal, homicidal, or self-harming
4. You are substance free or in a drug/alcohol treatment plan.
5. You have significant motivation and are willing to be compliant with treatment
As with any treatment, if you have psychotic symptoms or are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and are not on appropriate medication, then Prolonged Exposure Therapy would not be helpful.
Treatment:
Prolonged Exposure targets symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal for treatment. Prolonged Exposure Therapy helps you to decrease the stress caused by trauma in four parts.
1. Education - about common reactions to trauma and PTSD. To learn about your symptoms, understand the goals of treatment and as the basis for the next sessions.
2. Breathing retraining - learn how to breathe in a calming way. Learning to control your breathing can help in the short-term to manage immediate distress.
3. Real World Practice - Called in vivo exposure, you practice approaching situations or objects that you have been avoiding, as they are related to the trauma, in ways that are safe. Over time, trauma-related distress lessens and more control is gained.
4. Talking through the trauma - Called imaginal exposure, you talk about your trauma memory over and over with the clinician to get more control over your thoughts and feelings about the trauma. You learn that you do not have to be afraid of your trauma and learn to make sense of what happened so that there are fewer negative thoughts about the trauma.
With time and practice you learn that you can master stressful situations so that YOU and not your memories control what you do in your life and how you feel.
Studies have shown that other symptoms - depression, anxiety, guilt, anger, and shame are all reduced as you make progress in sessions.
Treatment typically lasts 10-15 weekly or twice weekly sessions for 90 minutes in length after the initial assessment is completed. If your insurance does not approve 90 minutes, most sessions can be reduced to 60 minutes.
For additional resources just click above on our Maine Resource Page.
If you are an adult, your life has been changed by a traumatic event, and you have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (distressing memories, intrusive thoughts, intense emotions, distress, flashbacks, avoidance, emotional numbing with loss of interest, sleep disturbances, nightmares, difficulty with concentration, irritability/ anger, hypervigilance, excessive startle response and have encountered situations that increase those distressing memories, that have persisted for over three months), then Prolonged Exposure Therapy may be a helpful treatment for you.
Prolonged Exposure is evidence-based. It has over twenty years of research that support the efficacy of Prolonged Exposure as a treatment for PTSD. Studies have shown that Prolonged Exposure reduces PTSD, and other trauma-related problems - depression, anxiety, anger and guilt. Prolonged Exposure is approved by the Veteran's Administration (VA) as an effective therapy for veteran's with PTSD. Prolonged Exposure Therapy is effective for other traumas as well - (veterans, victims of crimes including rape, domestic violence, kidnapping, adults exposed to violence as children and other trauma).
Criteria for Prolonged Exposure Therapy
1. Meet criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, with or without other related problems
2. You have sufficient memory of the traumatic event
3. You are not actively suicidal, homicidal, or self-harming
4. You are substance free or in a drug/alcohol treatment plan.
5. You have significant motivation and are willing to be compliant with treatment
As with any treatment, if you have psychotic symptoms or are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and are not on appropriate medication, then Prolonged Exposure Therapy would not be helpful.
Treatment:
Prolonged Exposure targets symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal for treatment. Prolonged Exposure Therapy helps you to decrease the stress caused by trauma in four parts.
1. Education - about common reactions to trauma and PTSD. To learn about your symptoms, understand the goals of treatment and as the basis for the next sessions.
2. Breathing retraining - learn how to breathe in a calming way. Learning to control your breathing can help in the short-term to manage immediate distress.
3. Real World Practice - Called in vivo exposure, you practice approaching situations or objects that you have been avoiding, as they are related to the trauma, in ways that are safe. Over time, trauma-related distress lessens and more control is gained.
4. Talking through the trauma - Called imaginal exposure, you talk about your trauma memory over and over with the clinician to get more control over your thoughts and feelings about the trauma. You learn that you do not have to be afraid of your trauma and learn to make sense of what happened so that there are fewer negative thoughts about the trauma.
With time and practice you learn that you can master stressful situations so that YOU and not your memories control what you do in your life and how you feel.
Studies have shown that other symptoms - depression, anxiety, guilt, anger, and shame are all reduced as you make progress in sessions.
Treatment typically lasts 10-15 weekly or twice weekly sessions for 90 minutes in length after the initial assessment is completed. If your insurance does not approve 90 minutes, most sessions can be reduced to 60 minutes.
For additional resources just click above on our Maine Resource Page.
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