Prolonged Exposure Therapy: A Case Study

Posttraumatic stress disorder can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event. Once the mind hits the coping threshold, it is imperative to seek professional help. The VA offers evidence-based treatments, individual, group treatments, and medications. Coping mechanisms range from individual to individual, hence the need for a diverse PTSD program. Under the evidence-based treatment there are two sections: prolonged exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy. Prolonged exposure therapy is when someone continues to talk about their fears/trauma to gain control of feelings associated with those fears. The cognitive processing therapy is to understand the feelings associated with trauma and finding a way to replace negative feelings with positive

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder is possible. The current treatment of PTSD encompasses several types of psychotherapy combined with a medication regimen. Cognitive therapy is one type of therapy used to combat PTSD. The goal of cognitive therapy is to allow the patient to slowly experience feelings, thoughts, and events associated with the trauma in a controlled setting. This allows the PTSD sufferer, to categorize the traumatic feelings associated with the event and assign a more positive meaning to them. Thus providing a coping mechanism. Another school of thought places the therapeutic focus on gradually exposing the PTSD sufferer to elements of the trauma. The goal is to desensitize the patient to the traumatic event. This allows the patient to resume a normal life. One other form of therapy used in treatment of PTSD is EMDR. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a form of exposure therapy that places the emphasis on guided eye movements. The theory is that the movements help retrain how the brain reacts to memories of the traumatic event. Success has

The symptoms that are being treated through this individualized treatment plan related to post traumatic stress disorder are: dissociative reactions, irritable and aggressive behavior, concentration problems, and trauma-related external reminders. The first goal is in place to assist Precious in learning to eliminate intrusive memories, a “notable feature of memory in PTSD is the reliving experiences or “flashbacks” to the trauma” (Berwin, 2003, p. 340), and addressing causes of these memories through the intervention of prolonged exposure. In addition, the second goal that is being implemented, preventing and addressing distortions, is being addressed through prolonged exposure. This technique is “a general treatment strategy for reducing anxiety that involves confronting situations, activities, thoughts, and memories that are feared and avoided even though they are not inherently harmful.” (Foa, 1998, p. 65). The flashbacks and distortions that Precious experiences are being addressed through prolonged exposure, due the fact that it

EMDR therapy, EMDR uses an eight-phase approach, referring to the past, present, and future aspects of the traumatic experience, and dysfunctional stress stored memories. The first Phase calls History and Treatment Planning. In this phase the therapist listens the patient's history and develops a treatment plan. In Phase II, the preparation, the therapist teaches the patient how to calm down him/herself with the help of relaxation techniques. The phase III is Assessment in which the therapist asks the patient to visualize the image of the disturbing event, then asks him/her to develop a positive cognition associating with that image. In Phase IV, Desensitization, the patient  focuses on the disturbing memories during short sessions of 15-30 seconds. At the same time, he/she also focuses on the alternative stimulation such as directed eye movements, slapping hands, or voices. This process repeats  many times until the patient's reaction to the target memory becomes less distressed. In Phase V, Installation, the therapist again with the use of bilateral stimulation asks the patient to remember the event about which the positive cognition is developed in the phase III, and makes sure that

Developed by Edna Foa, prolonged exposure therapy exposes patients to their traumatic event over and over again while being in a safe place (Blankenship 277). Although prolonged exposure therapy is one treatment it has four main elements including education, breathing retraining, in vivo exposure, and imaginal exposure. Education consists of learning about the treatment, treatment symptoms, and goals of the treatment. Breathing retraining helps patients to relax and calm themselves when they become anxious. In vivo exposure allows patients with PTSD to be put in real-life situations that they are not comfortable with due to the trauma they have faced. Lastly, imaginal exposure allows the patients with post-traumatic stress disorder to talk through their traumatic event while it is recorded. After repeatedly talking through their event, the patient then listens to what they have said (Swan 28). Prolonged exposure therapy occurs over eight to fifteen sessions. Each session can range from 60 to 90 minutes depending on the patient and their specific needs (Blankenship 278). This treatment helps patients with post-traumatic stress disorder by allowing them to face their fears associated with the traumatic event and gain control over their emotions (Swan 28). Prolonged exposure therapy is proven to be a very effective therapy and is highly supported for the use of treating PTSD (Blankenship

According to Tuerk, Yoder, Ruggiero, Gros & Acierno (2010), prolonged exposure therapy is a form of therapy treatment applied in posttraumatic stress disorders. Prolonged exposure treatment based on behavioral and cognitive levels of therapy, is a method used in treatment of trauma where the victim remembers the triggers of trauma rather than letting go, as it has been the case. Trained Social workers, psychologists and psychiatrist offer treatment to these conditions. What causes post traumatic stress disorders is not clearly known, but a mix of one's personality, inherited mental functionality risks, the way the brain releases chemicals in dealing with stress, and one's life experiences can be used to draw some insights (Powers, Halpern, Ferenschak, Gillihan & Foa, 2010).

It has been proven to have a better response rate.The Institute of Medicine recognized exposure therapies as the only treatment approach with sufficient empirical data to be deemed effective for PTSD (Institute of Medicine, 2007).While pharmacotherapy with SSRI can reduce symptoms, the most effective treatments involve understanding and overcoming avoidance behaviors (Foa & Rothbaum, 1998) Exposure therapy is a behavioral treatment for PTSD that aims to reduce your fear, anxiety and avoidance behavior by having you fully face, or be exposed to, thoughts, feelings or situations that are feared. During exposure therapy, the patient will face varying stimuli that stimulate the PTSD. This will go on until the intensity of the stimuli is

Existing controlled examinations of intervention efficacy specific to only sexual assault and rape are presently minimal in comparison to intervention examinations of combination or other types of trauma (Regehr, Alaggia, Dennis, Pitts, & Saini, 2013). Psychotherapeutic interventions that fail to differentiate sexual assault and rape victims from other types of trauma victims may decrease the treatment effectiveness or inadvertently harm participants in this subgroup. Trauma associated from rape or sexual assault differs from other forms of trauma and treatment efficacy should be examined in this manner. Trauma from rape or sexual assault entail symptoms of PTSD, depression, suicidal ideations and sexual dysfunction. Individuals may also indicate feelings of vulnerability, loss of control, fear, shame, self-blame, societal blame and stigma (Russell & Davis, 2007; Regehr et al., 2013; Ullman &Peter-Hagene, 2014). This research proposal intends to explore the long term effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) at reducing distress and trauma explicitly for adult victims of sexual assault and rape.

Exposure Therapy according to a powerful editorial “is a type of therapy that helps you decrease distress about your trauma. This therapy works by helping you approach trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and situations that you have been avoiding due to the distress they cause” (anonymous, 2015, para.1). This allows the PTSD victim to not only confront whatever is causing the trauma, but also begin to acknowledge that that there is nothing to be afraid of. This exposure treatment is broken down into four simple steps. The first step is education, so understanding your symptoms and discussing how to treat them. Next is breathing, which is very important for short term because if a PTSD victim has breakdown they tend to breathe faster. This increases heart rate and increases the effects of the breakdown. It’s important to keep breathing under control in the event of a breakdown, so this way the breakdown won’t be as bad. Then we have real life situation, which is being exposed to what causes fear and anxiety. Over time these exposures while decrease the trauma a PTSD victim has and help to gain more control of their life. Lastly, there is talking about it. When talking to a therapist about thoughts and memories the victim will be able to gain control of their thoughts and feelings. Thus being able to control breakdowns and preventing them from

For some patients with excessively traumatic experiences, the following preparation stage will last longer than the 1 to 4 sessions that most patients take. In the preparation phase, the therapist has to build a trustful relationship with the client in order to help establish appropriate expectations for the patient during the treatment. Since EMDR therapy does not require the patient to completely confide in the therapist her experiences, a therapeutic relationship between client and clinician is very important. Otherwise, the following sessions and treatments would be misdiagnosed since the patient’s statements to the therapist may not be completely true. After they establish a connection, the theory, procedures, and expectations of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy is clarified by the clinician to the patient. Also explained to the patient is the concept of Bilateral Stimulation (BLS), oscillating eye movements, sounds, and sensations. BLS aids the left and

The therapists that were used were a nurse therapist and a clinical psychologist. In sessions 1 through 5 of Exposure Therapy subjects were asked to imagine their previous trauma memories. Patients were asked to talk in first person tense about what they experienced, and then were asked to imagine and describe critical aspects of the trauma and "rewind and hold"

In this paper the therapies related to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) will be studied in order to determine the applicability thereof for the treatment (and prevention) of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD will be summarised as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders edition 4 with revisions (DSM-IV-TR). The therapy models, their theory and techniques will be discussed. The therapies this paper has in scope are, CBT, Exposure therapy and it’s different related techniques, Stress Inoculation Training (SIT), and Eye Movement Desensitisation

Exposure Assessment Record Respiratory Protection Program Administrator:__________________________________ Job:___________________________________________________Date____/____/____ Location:________________________________________________________________ :_______________________________________________________________________ I. Job Description: ( ) Routine ( ) Emergency Describe work performed and length of time involved:_____________________________ :_______________________________________________________________________ II. Contaminants: Concentration (measured or estimated) Respiratory Program Page 19 of 43 Reference: (report, number survey, sample) O E L* Hazard ratio** *OEL – Occupational Exposure Limit: PEL, TLV, REL, WEEL or other company

Furthermore, repeated exposure to trauma can lead to a temporary symptom becoming more permanent (Hodas, 2006).

This is a good and very difficult question. I would use CBT with this client if they would think that because they had a bad interaction with an Arab American then that means that they would have the same experience with all of them. I would explore those thoughts, rationale, and fears further. I agree with Sara on using exposure therapy because it allows the client to expose themselves to what is causes the trauma in order to reduce its negative effects. I would start small with the client by asking them to introduce themselves to an Arab American. Depending how well the client is doing then I would gradually add more. For example, The client would go to an Arab American