PTSD Cognitive Behavioral Treatment and medical or drug treatment

1. Explain briefly how each treatment is conducted 

• Cognitive-behavioral treatments describe any kind of treatment that is based on the idea that psychological problems arise as a result of the way in which people interpret or evaluate situations, thoughts, and feelings, as well as the behaviors that stem from these evaluations. Several different therapies would be considered "cognitive-behavioral" that are regularly used to treat PTSD: Exposure Therapy, Stress-Inoculation Training, and Cognitive Processing Therapy.
• There is a definite need for treatments for substance abuse and PTSD. This is because it is common for individuals with PTSD to also develop problems with alcohol and drug use. In fact, these problems co-occur quite frequently. Alcohol and drug use can interfere with standard treatments for PTSD. Therefore, people have developed specialized cognitive-behavioral treatments for substance abuse and PTSD. One such treatment is called Seeking Safety.

2. Explain briefly how each treatment works (be specific)

• CBT - writing about the trauma. The patient is asked to write about his traumatic event in detail. The patient is then instructed to read the story aloud repeatedly in and outside of session. The therapist helps the client identify and address stuck points and errors in thinking, sometimes called "cognitive restructuring." Errors in thinking may include, for example, "I am bad person" or "I did something to deserve this." The therapist may help the patient address these errors or stuck points by having the client gather evidence for and against those thoughts.

3. Explain how these two treatments can be used in combination with each other

• CBT and medication are each effective alone but many studies have shown that a combination of CBT and medication is the best approach for treating anxiety disorders. Combination CBT and medication is particularly effective for children and adolescents. Evidence clearly supports the combination approach is benefits for treating pediatric cases of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, social phobia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Studies suggest that CBT is also helpful for patients who have additional conditions, such as depression, a second anxiety disorder, or alcohol dependency. CBT is often given along with drug treatment. Both individual and group treatments work well.