Сognitive-behavioral treatment in: posttraumatic stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common reaction to traumatic events. Many people recover in the several months after trigger event, but in a significant subgroup the symptoms persist, often for years. Basic assumptions of integrative cognitive model proposed for stress symptoms chronification (Ehlers A., Clark D., 2000) are presented in the current article. It is suggested that PTSD becomes persistent when individuals process the trauma in a way that leads to a sense of serious threat: 1) excessively negative appraisals of the trauma and its sequelae; 2) a disturbance of autobiographical memory characterised by strong associative bonds; 3) problematic behavioural and cognitive strategies of coping; 4) previous trauma experience and cognitive schemas. Basic cognitive-behavioral strategies in PTSD treatment are outlined.

1. Bek A., Rash F., Sho B., Jemeri G. Kognitivnaja terapija depressii. M.-SPb.: Piter, 2003.
2. Bek A., Friman A. Kognitivnaja psihoterapija rasstrojstv lichnosti. M-SPb.: Piter, 2002.
3. Garanjan N.G. Prakticheskie aspekty kognitivnoj psihoterapii// Moskovskij psihoterapevticheskij zhurnal. 1996. № 3. S. 29–48.
4. Lihi R., Sjempl R. Posttravmaticheskoe stressovoe rasstrojstvo: kognitivno-bihevioral'nyj podhod//Moskovskij psihoterapevticheskij zhurnal. 2002. № 1. C. 1–18.
5. Holmogorova A.B. Filosofsko-metodologicheskie aspekty kognitivnoj psihoterapii // Moskovskij psihoterapevticheskij zhurnal. 1996. № 3. C. 7–28.
6. Holmogorova A.B., Garanjan N.G. Kognitivno-bihevioral'naja psihoterapija // Osnovnye napravlenija sovremennoj psihoterapii. M.: Kogito-Centr, 2000. C. 224–265.
7. Holmogorova A.B. Kognitivnaja psihoterapija i perspektivy ee razvitija v Rossii// Moskovskij psihoterapevticheskij zhurnal. 2001.  № 4. C. 6–18.
8. Beck A., Emery G. Anxiety disorders and phobias. A cognitive perspective. New-York: Basic books, 1985.
9. Beck A. Cognitive therapy: past, present and future // J-l of consulting and clinical psychology. 1993. Vol. 61.   № 2. P. 194–198.
10. Beck A. A new study of cognitive therapy for inpatients with schizophrenia // Cognitive therapy today. 2003. Vol. 8, № 3. P. 1–3.
11. Beck A. Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. – New-York: International Universities Press,1976.
12. Clark D. A community survey of the pschological consequences of the Omagh bomb and predictors of PTSD// A paper presented as a part of symposium on the effects of the Omagh bombing presented at the International Congress of cognitive therapy. - Catania, Italy. - June, 2000 .
13. Conway M. Introduction: What are memories? // Recovered memories and false memories (ed. by Conway M.). - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. – P. 1-22.
14. Dunmore E., Clark D., Ehlers A. A prospective investigation of the role of cognitive factors in persistent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after physical or sexual assault// Behaviour Research and therapy. - 2001. – vol. 39. – P. 1063-1084.
15. Gonsales-Prendes A., Resko S. Cognitive-behavioral theory of PTSD. – In: Effective treatments for PTSD (practice guidelines from international society for traumatic stress studies) (ed. by E. Foa, M. Fiedman, J. Cohen) – New-York: Guilford Press, 2009.
16. Ehlers A., Clark D. A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder// Behaviour research and therapy. 2000 . Vol. 38. P. 319–345.
17. Epstein N., Baucom D. Cognitive-behavioral marital therapy. New York: Bruner and Mazel, 1988.
18. Fairburn C., Brownwell K. Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. 2nd edition. New-York: Guilford Press, 2002.
19. Foa E. , Rothbaum B. Treating the trauma of rape: cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD. New-York: Guilford Press, 1998.
20. Foa E., Davidson J., Frances A. Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder // Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 1999. Vol. 60. Suppl 16.
21. Kessler R., Sonnega A., Bromet E., Hughes M., Nelson C. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey // Archives of General Psychiatry. 1995. Vol. 52. P. 1048–1060.
22. Meichenbaum D. Treating posttraumatic stress disorder. A handbook and practice manual for therapy. Chichester: Wiley, 1997.
23. Mendes D., Mello M., Ventura P., Passarela C. A systematic review on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder // International Journal of Psychiatry Medicine. 2008. Vol. 52. № 3. P. 241–59.
24. Smucker M., Dancu C. Cognitive-behavioral treatment for adult survivors of childhood trauma: imagery rescripting and reprocessing. Northvale: Jason Aronson, 1999.
25. Warwick H. A controlled trial of cognitive psychotherapy for hypohondriasis // Cognitive therapy in clinical practice (ed. Scott J.). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1991). P. 78–102.