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Traumatic
stress reactions are normal human reactions to extraordinary events.An individual who is trying to regain a
sense of mastery and control in his or her life often needs aid in
understanding how the event is construed and coped with.The providers at Health Psychology
Group, LLC use multiple approaches to help trauma survivors in their emotional
processing of an event. These events may elicit fear and subsequent avoidance
behavior in individuals.
All
of the treatment approaches utilized are based on the most current research and
are endorsed by the National Center for PTSD, the Department of Defense, and
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr.
Steinberg participated in training with Dr. Patricia Resick the founder of
Cognitive Processing Therapy (National Center for PTSD, Women’s Sciences
Division, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University) for the treatment
of traumatic stress. This
treatment is one of the most current evidence based time-limited treatments
available.
This
and other treatment approaches utilized in our facility are based on client
specific need and may involve one or a combination of treatments with the goal
of changing symptoms after a traumatic event. The evidence based treatments have been applied to survivors
of all types of trauma ranging from assaults to combat.
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Cognitive
Processing Therapy (CPT) is a 12-session therapy that has been found
effective for both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other symptoms
following traumatic events. CPT is based on a social cognitive theory that focuses on how the
traumatic event is construed cognitively by a survivor while
simultaneously decreasing the emotional impact of the event. This treatment was originally
designed to help survivors of sexual assault; however, we have used it
successfully with a range of other traumatic events, including military
and law enforcement related traumas.
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Stress Inoculation
Training (SIT) is a treatment approach aimed at the reduction and prevention
of stress to include posttraumatic stress. This therapy focuses on how one’s view of a particular
situation elicits an emotional response. In SIT, the goal is to work with the client on his or
her appraisal of a traumatic event and the ability to handle this
event. Individuals under
stress sometimes find themselves making extreme or one-sided beliefs about
themselves and the world. Given such a belief system one may misread situations, avoid
opportunities, and behave in an uncharacteristic manner. Through new
coping skills and relaxation clients gradually learn to utilize new ways
of dealing with low and high stress situations. SIT is appropriate for the treatment of all types
of stress to include stress after a traumatic event.
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Controlled Exposure
Therapy is a highly successful treatment approach for trauma survivors
aimed at gently reactivating and modifying traumatic memories. In this treatment a client, with a
trusted therapist, attends to
trauma-related information in a manner that will activate his or her own
traumatic memories. In
therapy the trauma-related feelings and mental structure are experienced
in a safe environment and gently modified. This time-limited treatment works by forming new
non-traumatic memories. This
is accomplished by gently exposing the client to an experience that
contains elements that are similar to the original trauma while
introducing and pairing new non-threatening memories to the original
traumatic thoughts. Over time
this is translated by the client into a personal sense of safety through a
mastery of their own thoughts and feelings.
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Sensorimotor
Psychotherapy. Health Psychology Group, LLC is in the process of
incorporating a new and unique approach to the treatment of trauma.
Current medicine has been moving towards a mind-body approach to all types
of illnesses and the treatment of trauma is no exception. Current research
demonstrates that traumatic experiences disrupt the body’s physiological
and emotional regulation. By
incorporating traditional talk-therapy techniques with techniques that use
the body’s own defensive system, regulatory patterns, and ability for
adaptation, healing occurs. Sensorimotor psychotherapy combines traditional mental processing
of traumatic events with helping clients to become more aware of their
bodies, track bodily sensations, and gradually implement physical
techniques that empower the client and promote healing.
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Psychopharmacological
Treatment of traumatic stress. Survivors of trauma will often suffer difficulty sleeping,
excessive anxiety, and excessive arousal. After a traumatic event, the body’s alarm center may
change in response to the threat. This normal bodily reaction leaves one in a hyper alert state which
can lead to difficulty functioning in many settings. Some survivors of
trauma may also have a depressed mood and feel “numb” and/or
“disconnected” from their surroundings. Additionally, some report increased anger and
aggression as a result of traumatic exposure. The purpose of medication in the treatment of
posttraumatic stress is to improve one’s well being by reducing these
troubling symptoms. Research
has shown that the right medication can be extremely helpful in improving
the quality of life in a trauma survivor and allows one to fully
participate in psychotherapy.
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Relaxation Training
to include Biofeedback and Guided Imagery are extremely effective methods
of reducing the anxiety resulting from the body’s alarm center from
becoming over stimulated after a trauma. Biofeedback provides education regarding
anxiety and how this is experienced in the body such as increased heart
rate and sweating. It helps clients to retrain bodily sensations (such as
breathing) in order to provide relief from a number of problems ranging
from chronic headaches, anxiety, and other medical diagnoses. A variety of relaxation methods are
taught in this clinic to give the client a sense of mastery over their
bodily responses to provide symptom relief. Often used in conjunction with or as part of therapy,
relaxation skills are highly effective and hold up under the scrutiny of
research.
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