PTSD Treatment Program

Have you ever experienced feeling anxious, sad, frightened, or disconnected from your environment after experiencing a traumatic event in your life? It is normal as long as it fades over time. However, if the feeling continues for weeks and you somehow always sense danger or have flashes of memories from a painful experience, then you might be suffering from PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. For comprehensive care, consider our Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program.

Anyone can suffer from PTSD if they are subjected to significant threat or trauma. Among the people who most commonly have this disorder are rape victims, as well as soldiers who were emotionally scarred from the battles they participated in. For those needing medication support, our Medication Assisted Treatment program offers valuable resources.

While people directly involved in the traumatic event are the most prone to PTSD, those who witnessed the scenario can also be affected and thus, have PTSD. In fact, even those who help in rescue operations like emergency workers, as well as family and friends of the traumatized can also experience PTSD. The following events are among the many instances that can trigger PTSD:

• Natural calamities
• War
• Vehicular accidents
• Terrorist attacks
• Rape
• Kidnapping
• Assault
• Sudden death of a loved one
• Sexual or physical abuse
• Childhood neglect

Not all people who experienced trauma develop PTSD. There are certain instances that signs of post-traumatic disorder surface as early as three months from the traumatic event, but there are also times when it surfaces a couple of years after. In the same manner, there are PTSD patients who easily recover within six months, but there are also those who experience the symptoms much longer. For holistic support, explore our Holistic Treatment options.

“Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This ‘fight-or-flight’ response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm.” – National Institute of Mental Health

Signs that you have PTSD include having at least one re-experiencing symptom, one avoidance symptom, two arousal and reactivity symptoms, and two cognition and mood symptoms. If you think you have PTSD, call us today to find out more.

Benefits of PTSD Treatment

One thing that you should remember when diagnosed with PTSD is to never lose hope. After all, His House has PTSD treatment centers and personalized PTSD treatment programs available.

When diagnosed with PTSD, people have a tendency to keep their feelings to themselves instead of talking to other people. PTSD patients should remember that doing this will only make the illness worse. Instead, the National Center for PTSD strongly advises patients to talk to a therapist. This is called psychotherapy but is more popularly known as “talk” therapy.

“Trauma exposure can result in enduring biological changes that depend on an individual’s life history, age, gender and a host of other factors. We must capitalize on this heterogeneity in the service of individualizing treatment approaches rather than insisting that one size fits all.” – Rachel Yehuda, Neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital

Choosing the Right PTSD Treatment Program

Medication and psychotherapy are two of the most widely used treatments to help patients with PTSD recover. Among the highly recommended medications for PTSD patients include antidepressants to help them control their feelings of sadness, anger, worry, and numbness inside. Doctors also prescribe antidepressants alongside psychotherapy.

There are several forms of psychotherapy, but the most effective one for PTSD treatment is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a kind of PTSD treatment that covers everything the patient should learn including symptoms, identification of the triggers of such symptoms, and the necessary skills to manage them. These include:

• Exposure Therapy: This cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on training PTSD patients to face and control their fear. As the name implies, it exposes them to the traumatic experience in a safe way so they can get over their fear of it. Some of the strategies included in this therapy are imagining, writing, or re-visiting the place where the traumatic incident happened.
• Cognitive Restructuring: This is a CBT that could help PTSD patients make sense of their bad memories. This is particularly helpful for those who remember an incident differently and attach negative emotions to it such as guilt or shame. This therapy can help people recover a more realistic perspective on what happened.

While these PTSD treatments have been generally effective, researchers found out that there may be more effective treatments for post-traumatic disorder. In an article posted in The Scientific American, a group of scientists are beginning to consider biomarkers such as hormones, genes, enzymes, and brain function in determining the right treatment for each PTSD patient. For a structured and supportive environment, visit our Residential Treatment Program.

“Don’t let PTSD get in the way of your life, hurt your relationships or cause problems at work or school.” – National Center for PTSD

Expected PTSD Treatment Programs Results

Because PTSD is a mental condition, it can be difficult to see the therapies’ effects from the outside. However, the PTSD patient should be able to see and feel changes that range from a better understanding of trauma and its effects to skills on how to manage anger and sadness. Other expected results include:

• Learning how to get better sleep and have a better diet, and exercise habits.
• Being able to identify and deal with shame, guilt, and other feelings related to the event.
• Changing how people react to symptoms of PTSD.

We Can Help

PTSD is completely treatable and should not be considered otherwise. Treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder is available and has been proven to be effective; there is no need to face your fears alone. We’re here to help. For more information about our services, visit our Inpatient Rehabilitation Center page.