General Psychology
Dr. Williams

In Tori DeAngelis article “PTSD Treatments Grow in Evidence, Effectiveness” she argues that several psychological interventions help to significantly reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. But after reading the article an impression that its content is somehow contradictory to the title, as its main statement may be evaluated as “More PTSD treatments are developed and practiced, though all of them still lack reliable evidence and their consequences are not fully predictable”.

In the article DeAngelis states that recent destructive events (ie war in Iraq) enabled researches to learn more about PTSD and its treatment. Particularly in November 2008 the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) issued new PTSD practice guidelines which also take into consideration the recommendations of other major practice-related bodies. Using the “A” to “E” grading system, the guidelines label several PTSD treatments as “A” treatments based on high degree of empirical support.

Having several “A”-graded treatments will allow therapists to select the treatment they consider most suitable. They include:

1. Prolonged-exposure therapy, developed for the therapist to guide the client to recall traumatic memories in a gradual, controlled and repeated manner until the person can evaluate his/her circumstances realistically, regain control over their thoughts and feelings around the incident and return to their usual activity without fear.

2. Cognitive-processing therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy which includes an exposure component but places greater emphasis on cognitive strategies to help people dispose of erroneous thinking that has appeared after the event.

3. Stress-inoculation training, another form of cognitive behavioral therapy where the therapists teach the