Group Interpersonal Therapy

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks.

Stein, Dan J., Seedat, Soraya, Iversen, Amy, and Wesley, Simona, (2007), Post-traumatic stress disorder: medicine and politics, 369: 139 44

The first method of treatment is trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy. In this method, a patient is gradually but carefully exposed to feelings, thoughts, and situations that trigger memories of the trauma. By identifying the thoughts that make the patient remember the traumatic event, thoughts that had been irrational or distorted are replaced with a balanced picture. Another productive method is family therapy since the family of the patient is also affected by PTSD. Family therapy is aimed at helping those close to the patient understand what he/she is going through. This understanding will help in the establishment of appropriate communication and ways of curbing problems resulting from the symptoms (Smith & Segal, 2011).

Dunn, N.J., Rehm, L.P., Schillaci, J., Souchek, J., Mehta, P., Ashton, C.M., . . . Hamilton, J.D. (2007). A randomized trial of self-management and psychoeducational group therapies for comorbid chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20(3), 221-237.

Levi, Bar‐Haim, Kreiss and Fruchter (2016) provide effective psychotherapy approaches for treating combat veterans with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, which they show their efficacy with a great deal of support. The research is more comprehensive than most studies as it provides an assessment of the psychiatric status at baseline, post-treatment and 8–12 months follow-up using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, the PTSD Questionnaire, the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the Psychotherapy Outcome Assessment and Monitoring System-Trauma Version assessment questionnaire. However, the researchers did not conduct randomized controlled trials to determine treatment efficacy. Litz et al., (2009) added to the research on the treatment of PTSD by stimulating a critical examination of moral injury. The study makes use of the available literature and offers a working conceptual framework and a set of intervention strategies designed to repair moral injury, which is a strength also evident in Peterson et al. (2011).

A frequent therapeutic option for mildly to moderately affected PTSD patients is group therapy, although empirical support for this is sparse. In such a setting, the PTSD patient can discuss traumatic memories, PTSD symptoms, and functional deficits with others who have had similar experiences. This approach has been most successful with war Veterans, rape/incest victims, and natural disaster survivors. It is important that therapeutic goals be realistic because, in some cases, PTSD is a chronic, complex (e.g., with many comorbid diagnoses and symptoms), and severely debilitating psychiatric disorder that does not always respond to current available treatments. Resick, Nishith, and Griffin (2003) have shown however, that very good outcomes

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is commonly used to treat a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety. During the course of treatment, individuals learn how to identify disturbing or destructive though patters that can have an ill influence on behaviors and emotions. Being cognoscente of ones thoughts and looking at it from a logical point of view can often help individuals that are suffering from PTSD symptoms, group therapy is often a safe setting with peers that can help instill CBT effectively, and even see how CBT has improved others’ lives as well. In these setting patients can discuss memories of PTSD and have even been most successful with war veteran, sexual molestation cases, even natural disaster

In today society, many people go through many tragic events in a life time. One of the most common disorders is posttraumatic stress disorder. This disorder is can be exposed to violent events such as rape, child abuse, war, domestic violence. This disorder thought to be only on war veterans who have been involved in combat. But this disorder is not only limited to soldiers but to any person. Anybody can go through posttraumatic stress disorder who has had horrible traumatic events in their life span. PTSD is a disorder that many individuals go through without even knowing it. PTSD can cause many health and social issues. What is important is how it is treated and how early it can be detected. PTSD can be treated with the proper intervention and treatments. Psychologists have carefully researched material that is necessary for the treatment of this posttraumatic stress disorder.

While PTSD and Depression are different disorders, they can be used to illustrate the pitfalls of an overmedicated society and highlight the effectiveness of IPT as an alternative psychotherapy treatment. Americans relying on medication in the treatment of disorders are being overmedicated by the drug industry, their treatments run higher risks of addiction and show short term remission. People are often placed on medications by doctors and therapists before any alternative treatments are considered or planned. Studies show that despite the popularity of medicating disorders, medication is less effective of a treatment.

(McElhiney, Moody, Steif, Prudic, Devanand, Sackheim, (1995) Studies show psychotherapy is one of the most used therapies for PTSD, but it’s not as effective as other therapies might be.

The purpose of this study is to look at group therapy and the effects it has on anxiety as compared to individual

writes about how CPT is used to treat PTSD in the Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders. The treatment starts by teaching the client about PTSD, and the relationship between their thoughts and emotion, this leads to the identification of any “automatic thoughts” that could be hindering their improvement. The client processes their trauma by eliminating any avoidance of the traumatic event. The therapist has them write about the event that caused their trauma, instructing them to go in-depth, describing what transpired during that time, why it occurred, and how it affected the client and those around them. This piece is then shared at the upcoming session and the therapist works to assist the client in identifying and modifying any maladaptive thoughts about the trauma using Socratic questioning (Resick et al., 2002). Once the client has successfully developed the right skill sets to catch and prevent debilitating thoughts, the therapist aids them in developing the ability to use these skills outside of therapy and treatment. CPT can be useful in both an individual and group setting, with both containing assignments outside of their sessions (Monson, et al., 2014). Studies have suggested CPT to be effective in the treatment of

These studies also suggest more sessions and more intervention time, are correlated to better outcomes (Arroyo, et al., 2017) .The participants in treatment seemed to have the greatest results in decreased PTSD symptoms, increased self-esteem, decreased symptoms of depression and general distress, and increases in life functioning (Arroyo, et al., 2017). Arroyo et al. (2017) argue that in order to see the best results, treatment should be IPV adapted, it is recommended to use CBT-based treatments and interpersonal therapy. Currently, HCWC offers CBT-based interventions but there are limited times available for counseling sessions, and with more clients being served, there will be a greater need for counseling services. The research also

Holmes et al. (2007) study suggested the use of interpersonal counselling (IPC) as a universal preventative treatment to minimize psychological morbidity after a physical trauma. They attempted to resolve the psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression that emerges after a major physical injury. The researcher’s hypothesis was to create a brief universal psychological intervention to deal with the physical and functional consequences that occur after a major injury as well as reduce long-term psychological morbidity.

The featured article in review examines the proposal of broadening the classification of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to include a new spectrum which would be classified as “Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or CPTSD. According to Eur. J Psychotramatol,2013:4;103402;/ejpt.V40.22608 The World Health Organization recently proposed an 11th version of The International classification of Diseases (ICD-11) that includes two diagnoses that relate to Post traumatic Stress Disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is studied using Psychopathology which is the study of mental and behavioral disorders by a Psychologist or team of Psychologists depending on the research required. Individual clients will be accessed and treated with therapy and