POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

Mental Health Services in Greenwich, Darien, Westport, Westchester, and Surrounding Areas in Connecticut and New York

What is PTSD? Many people are exposed to traumatic events, or situations where they directly experience a life-threatening event, serious injury, sexual violence, or witness this event happening to another.  People react to traumatic events in a variety of different ways. For some, exposure to trauma leads to PTSD, with symptoms persisting for a substantial period of time, and can greatly affect their ability to function.

What are the symptoms of PTSD? Symptoms of PTSD can include:

1. Distressing and intrusive memories, thoughts, or images of the traumatic event(s)

2. Flashbacks to the experience

3. Nightmares about the trauma

4. Intense distress or physical symptoms (e.g., heart pounding, sweating) when reminded of the event

5. Avoidance of thoughts, people, places, or activities related to the trauma

6. Change in mood

7. Feeling irritable, on edge, or startling easily

8. Concentration and/or sleep difficulties

How do you treat PTSD? We use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)  to treat PTSD. CPT is a short-term treatment for PTSD that has decades of research support. It focuses initially on the question of why the trauma occurred and then the effects of the trauma on your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. A recent episode of This American Life is excellent in highlighting the CPT process.