Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become the commonly discussed and diagnosed disorder over the past two decades. Research has established that the increase of cases of PTSD is because several veterans have returned home from the battlefield and there are also increased cases of terrorism and natural disaster. According to Qukor, Kosh, Joan, and Barbara (2011), about 8%-9% of people usually get affected by PTSD in their lifetimes, and therefore, PTSD is not a unique case of disorder. The diagnosing and treatment of PTSD have existed since the 1980s and since then several clinical trials have been conducted to treat the disorder. Studies have discovered that different approaches such as pharmacological approaches and cognitive behavior approaches have been applied before with much positive success (Cukor, Josh, JoAnn, Albert, & Barbara, 2011). Cognitive behavior treatment is purely based on belief in conditioning and learning. This approach has proved to be working and has been for decades now. But there are several approaches that are currently being used to treat PTSD differently from old approaches. However, this research intends to discuss certain latest PTSD treatment approaches such as prolonged exposure therapy, couple-based treatment, and cognitive behavior therapy being in different clinical setups
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First, PTSD is usually associated with suicide and combat exposure, terrorist attack, physical or sexual assault child sexual abuse, and serious incident like natural disasters. According to Shubina (2014), several people suffer from stress and other incidents which can turn into PTSD and affect an individual life for a longer time. Several cases of PTSD have also been reported among couples which is one of the several cases of PTSD which is being addressed (Shubina, 2014). It is reported that trauma occurs in the daily life of many people and therefore, treatment of PTSD needs to be effective and well researched. Shubina (2014) pointed out that car accidents, domestic violence, near-death experiences, child traumas, and stressful events are the major contributors to the growth of PTSD systems in people’s life. The increasing cases of natural disasters have also increased the need to have effective PTSD treatment to reduce cases of suicide and others cases of the disorder in society.
Research has established that some of the best latest treatments for PTSD are prolonged exposure therapy (PET). Prolonged exposure therapy is used to treat veterans who have just returned home. According to Qukor, Megan, Francis, and JoAn (2010), prolonged exposure therapy takes a person back to remember every detail of what happened. It reveals the traumatic experience through flashbacks and verbalizes the detailed memories. The therapy is a sixty minutes program that takes a victim through the memories of certain things he or she would want to remember but forget about. It is stated by Qukor, Megan, Francis, and JoAn (2010) that taking a victim through the memories creates relief and comforts the mind and therefore, makes it possible to cure a person from such an incident. It is argued that when a person remembers certain bad events and talks about them openly it makes it possible to come out of such bad condition (Cukor, Josh, JoAnn, Albert, & Barbara, 2011). Dr. Kevin noted that prolonged exposure therapy is used especially to treat veterans because it allows veterans to tell the tale of the attack and then listen to themselves on tap. This is because research has discovered that listening to a personal voice explaining a traumatized event repeatedly is likely to neutralize the power of bubbling and do away with subconscious memory (Cukor, Megan, Francis, & JoAnn, 2010).
Emerging psychotherapy such as couples and family therapy is also one of the latest PTSD treatment methods which have proved to be effective. Trauma often affects families and marital relations negatively (Reisman, 2016). It sometimes results to increase anger and irritability, isolating behavior, and can result in suicide as well. As stated by Reisman (2016) 75% of veterans have difficulty in relationships and 465 of cases have been treated using couples and family therapy. A report from the Veteran office in Washington DC indicates that 60% of veterans who have gone through couple and family therapy have normal life and stress has been reduced as well. Reisman (2016) noted that several couple-based treatments have been developed to treat family-related trauma which can result in suicide. However, some of the couple-based treatments developed are cognitive behavior conjoint therapy (CBCT) which is used to address family-related problems and hence help in reducing stress and uniting a family.
Several studies have also revealed that family intervention on PTSD usually focuses on stress management to help reduce stress. The couple-based treatment has been developed to improve communication, techniques, and behavior of couples to make sure that family issues or problems are addressed extensively. Cognitive intervention is meant to address maladaptive beliefs or thoughts about the trauma and the kind of impact it causes the society. The couple-based treatment is a situation of my couples being taken through the problems they have in the family. Later the recording is played for them so they can listen to their problems before advice is provided.
Though the main treatment techniques for PTSD, there are certain medications that are being used to treat symptoms of PTSD, and therefore, there are several medications that are being used for the treatment of PTSD. According to Bufka, Raquel, and Howard (2017), medications are generally being used to address the symptoms of PTSD. Therefore, the drugs which are being used are antidepressants, which are used to treat depression and anxiety symptoms. It helps in improving concentration and sleeping and therefore, the latest treatment of PTSD involves the use of medicine to treat symptoms and make a patient stable. These medications have side effects and it is why the medication has never been the first option for PTSD treatment. It is upon the doctor to figure out the best mediation for specific conditions or trauma which can help in the treatment process (Bufka, Raquel, & Howard, 2017). But the main treatment of PTSD is through therapy which is divided in different methods and also applied differently so that a comprehensive result could be obtained (Shubina, 2014). However, the main goal of PTSD therapy is to teach affected victims new skills which the can use to deal with the traumatizing event, improve the symptoms, and to restore their self-esteem of victims.
In conclusion, the need for effective treatment of PTSD is driving research to come up with the best options for the treatment of PTSD. Treatment methods that have been used for decades have proved too ineffective and therefore, the latest methods of treating PTSD stand a better chance of solving the stress and other kinds of trauma that have been affecting the community. However, the latest methods of treatment being applied are prolonged exposure therapy; couple-based therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and others. These treatments help in addressing stress issues, family problems, veterans’ trauma, natural disaster, and terrorism. It is also noted that treatments are applied in stages so that they can provide detail information which can be helpful in solving problems or addressing PTSD issues for a long time in life.
References
Bufka, L., Raquel, H., & Howard, K. (2017). Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. American Psychological Association , 12-38.
Cukor, J., Josh, S., JoAnn, D., Albert, R., & Barbara, R. (2011). Emerging treatments for PTSD.
Clinical Psychology Review , 12 (2), 2-24.
Cukor, J., Megan, O., Francis, L., & JoAnn, D. (2010). Evidence-based treatments for PTSD,
new directions, and special challenges. Psychiatric and Neurologic Aspects of War , 1-42.
Reisman, M. (2016). PTSD Treatment for Veterans: What’s Working, What’s New, and What’s
Next. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047000/ , 2-35.
Shubina, I. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral therapy of patients with ptsd: literature review .
Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences , 2-42.
