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Overview

Appropriate treatment is crucial to managing post-traumatic disorders and improving quality of life. It is important that the treatment is specifically focused on recovery from trauma.

How did you get your PTSD diagnosis and did it help?

How did you confront PTSD?

What support is available to people dealing with feelings connected to traumatic experiences?

How does PTSD affect relationships and how can you support someone living with PTSD?

Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy

Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy is a form of CBT that is adapted to specifically address post-traumatic stress.

What does CBT involve and how did it help you to understand PTSD?

Eye movement and desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye movement and desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR) is a developing field of treatment for PTSD and has been designed to reduce PTSD symptoms by reprocessing traumatic memories through a series or rapid eye movements. EMDR, if used with patients with DID, must be approached with caution. If sufficient stabilisation and safety work in a therapeutic capacity has not taken place, the treatment can cause an overwhelming flooding of traumatic memories. Because of the varying degrees of amnesia between alters, an alter who is not ready to process a trauma may be inadvertently affected in this way.

Arts therapies

Arts therapies may be useful to people with post-traumatic disorders, though current professional guidelines indicate therapies that are not specifically adapted for trauma must be managed carefully.

Medication

Whilst trauma-informed therapy is necessary in the treatment of post-traumatic disorders, medication may also be offered. Medication may help some people with particular symptoms such as flashbacks, or provide relief from associated conditions like depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

Other psychological treatments

For people who have experienced prolonged trauma, treatments focused on forming a cohesive narrative about their experiences may be beneficial. Such treatments include Psychodynamic Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Ego States Therapy, and Lifespan Integration Therapy. Some private providers offer a limited number of free or discounted places to individuals who have no means to fund private therapy courses.

Short-term respite

Whilst short-term respite may make things seem a bit more bearable temporarily, they are not a substitute for professional support. There is no one-size-fits-all way of practising self-care. Whether you want to watch mindless television, give yourself permission to spend the day in bed, or journal about your feelings, finding ways to make yourself feel safe and more at ease might be helpful.