Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay -- Post-traumatic st

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological condition that occurs after a traumatic event. In the DSM-IV, it is characterized under anxiety disorders. Some common symptoms include, but are not limited to, intense fear, reliving the experience, persistent avoidance, numbing, diminished interest, and increased arousal. In order to be diagnosed, these symptoms need to be present for more than one month. Subsequently there are many types of treatment for this disorder. In particular the ones that will be discussed in depth are cognitive-behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy, and lastly treatment for children and adolescents. To begin, the most widely practiced form of therapy for the treatment of PTSD is cognitive-behavioral therapy. There are a variety of techniques used in cognitive-behavioral therapy. An example would be, exposure therapy, which is the most well known technique. There are numerous ways to carry out this approach. Ordinarily, it begins with creating a scale of the anxieties. During a treatment session in which flooding is used, exposure to the highest item on the scale is set in motion. Others begin with anxieties that are rated moderately anxiety provoking (Foa, Keane, & Friedman, 2000, p.64). Exposure therapy methods share the common feature if confrontation with frightening stimuli that continues until the anxiety is reduced (Foa, Keane, & Friedman, 2000, p.64). When using exposure therapy it is important to also teach relaxation training, which helps them reduce the anxiety that is induced by the exposure. Systematic desensitization is a perfect illustration of this. Ranking the an xieties on order as to have a gradual increase in difficulty; exposure therapy begins, followed by relaxation training.... ...., (2008). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for ptsd: A case formulation approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Asmundsin, G.J.G., Barnhofer, T., Blackmore, M.A., Collimore, K.C., Daniel, J., Fennell, M.J.V., Foa, E.B., Glibert, P., Goga, P., Heimberg, R.G., Jacofsky, M., Kazantais, N., Khemlani-Patel, S., Kingdon, D., Konstadinidis, L., Kyrios, M., Leahy, R.L., Ledgerwood, D.M., Morasco, B.J., Neziroglu, F., Papageorgiou, C., Petry, N.M., Pinto, A., Rauch, S.A.M., Simos, G., Taylor S., Turkington, D., Weinstock, J. (2009). Cognitive behaviour therapy: A guide for the practicing clinician (Vol 2). New York, NY: Routlege. Scheeringa, M. S., Zeanah, C. H., Drell, M. J. and Larrieu, J. A. 1995: Two approaches to diagnosing posttraumatic stress disorder in infancy and early childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34, 191-200.