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Integrating Treatments for PTSD
Dr. Louise Gaston
Are you tired of leaders claiming that their
approaches are both necessary and sufficient for treating PTSD?
This course will teach you about the various approaches for treating PTSD in a
realistic and comprehensive fashion. Because individuals are multidimensional, focusing on
one technical approach can be, not only constricting, but also inappropriate.
 | Course Objectives
 | Understand PTSD through neurobiological, behavioral, cognitive, and dynamic models |
| Learn about various methods for treating PTSD |
| Learn the necessary ingredients for treating PTSD; the basic technical and relational
requirements, and the different phases of treatment |
| Learn when to focus on reviewing traumatic events or restructuring the patient's
personality |
| Learn the approaches more likely to be effective depending on the factors at play |
| Learn to determine a realistic prognosis |
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| Clinical Considerations
| Two dangers face trauma therapists: focusing too much on trauma, or not focusing enough.
Most methods developed for treating PTSD focus on reexperiencing the event; such as
hypnosis, implosive therapy, EMDR, etc. Such techniques have been shown to be helpful with
selected samples of patients. However, when their efficacy is tested, they are found to be
potentially detrimental; e.g. Pitman et al. (1991) reported severe psychological reactions
in a third of patients. Caution is thus highly recommended. |
| Neurobiological, psychophysiological, and brain imaging studies support the notion that
PTSD is a pathological manifestation of the inability to modulate arousal within the
brain. Research also shows that hypersensitivity can develop when trauma is chronic and/or
repeated, and that extreme levels of arousal can be toxic for neurons. Therefore, having
some patients repeatedly relive traumatic events in therapy can be harmful, provoking
increased hypersensitivity rather than habituation. On the other hand, colluding with
patients' avoidance of trauma can also be detrimental. It may reinforce maladaptive coping
strategies and defenses, and prevent the integration of the traumatic information,
potentially leaving patients with a heightened level of arousal and a constricted sense of
self. In this course, an integrative viewpoint will be presented, considering the
strengths and limitations of each approach. |
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| Instructor
| Dr. Louise Gaston is the instructor for this course; view her resume. |
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| Participants' comments
| "Best ever!" |
| "Wonderful integration. Great examples!" |
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| Credits
| Please inquire with American Continuing Education, Inc. at
1-866-489-2886. |
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