PTSD keeps the brain locked in survival mode long after trauma has passed. Here is how therapy helps the mind relearn safety, what treatments work best, and when to seek professional support.
Trauma has a way of stopping life in its tracks. For some people, it does not simply fade with time. It follows them into every room, every conversation, every restless night.
A sudden sound can send the heart racing. A familiar scent can feel like a warning. Sleep becomes fragmented. Work becomes difficult. Relationships start to fray.
This is the reality of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) — a condition that can feel overwhelming, isolating, and unending. However, with the right approach to therapy and treatment, PTSD recovery can go from seemingly impossible to a definite probability.
Why Therapy Works for PTSD
Trauma has the effect of keeping the brain on high alert. It thinks that there is danger at every turn.
The brain interprets every little thing as a threat. Loud noises. A touch on the arm. A shadow in the periphery. PTSD can cause a person to become triggered by anything and everything.
Therapy works because it helps the brain relearn safety. Professional trauma counselling helps the brain to learn that the danger is no longer there, and it is time to move on with life.
Without treatment, the brain is firing off those survival alarms every chance it gets. Loud noises are gunshots. A touch is an attacker. A certain smell reminds you of a bad situation. Life becomes avoidance, fear, and exhaustion.
But with treatment, the brain slowly recalibrates, and people begin to reclaim parts of their lives they thought were lost.
The Most Effective PTSD Treatment Approaches
Studies suggest that between 20% to 40% of people diagnosed with PTSD go on to make a full recovery with treatment. Different therapies work in different ways, but several approaches have consistently shown strong results in clinical studies.
Each one approaches healing a little differently but all have a good track record of success.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
The way that someone with PTSD thinks about what happened to them has a massive impact on the recovery process.
After a traumatic experience, a person is likely to develop some negative beliefs about themselves and the world around them:
“I’m broken.” or “The world is a dangerous place”.
The way that a person thinks about what has happened to them causes a negative cycle in their brain. CPT helps to identify and challenge these stuck points of thinking and replace them with positive beliefs and thoughts.
A typical CPT programme includes:
- Weekly sessions over a 12 week period
- Written homework between sessions
- Gradually processing traumatic memories
- Developing new, healthier cognitive frameworks.
In studies, CPT has been found to result in 30% to 97% of participants no longer fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for PTSD after the treatment plan had been completed.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Avoidance of anything that reminds someone of the trauma that they have experienced is one of the most significant obstacles to PTSD recovery.
As humans, we want to avoid pain and suffering. PTSD triggers seem to be everywhere to a brain that thinks there is always danger around.
Prolonged exposure therapy looks to help a person to do the exact opposite of what their brain is telling them to do.
In a safe and controlled environment, a person is encouraged to:
- Remembering their trauma related memories
- Facing their trauma-related triggers
- Allow their brain to see that these reminders are not dangerous.
This approach may seem a little scary. Yet, it has some of the best success rates for treating PTSD. A success rate of up to 80% in reducing symptoms can be seen in a person who follows through with the prolonged exposure treatment plan.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is one of those therapies that can seem a little odd when a person first hears about it.
EMDR therapy has a person focus on following the therapist’s finger while remembering traumatic experiences. Weird as it might sound, this technique allows the brain to process these memories that have been stuck in their system for so long.
EMDR is one of the fastest forms of PTSD treatment out there. For some people, it can take effect in just a few sessions.
What PTSD Recovery Actually Looks Like
PTSD recovery does not mean forgetting about what has happened. It means that these memories are no longer running your life.
PTSD recovery typically includes:
- A reduction in flashbacks and intrusive thoughts
- Better sleep quality
- Improved relationships
- Return to work or daily activities
- Less anxiety and depression
Progress, however, is rarely linear. There will be good days and bad days. Some weeks will seem like a giant leap forward and then others will seem like you are back to where you started.
The good thing is that, in the overall picture, things are getting better with consistent treatment.
How to Choose the Right Treatment Path
Choosing the right approach to PTSD treatment is not a one-size-fits-all situation.
No single approach is going to work for every single person. There is not a single specific type of therapy that is going to work well for a specific type of trauma.
The critical thing is for a person to find a mental health professional that has experience in working with trauma patients. A trained mental health professional will consider factors such as the type of trauma, how long symptoms have lasted, co-occurring mental health issues, and personal preferences.
Some people respond better to structured treatment approaches like CPT. Some people to better with the more experiential EMDR. Many people do better with a mixture of treatments.
The critical thing is working with a professional who can evaluate the situation and recommend the path forward.
When to Seek Professional Help
PTSD counselling and treatment becomes essential when it begins to have an impact on a person’s daily life. Trauma-related issues affecting work, relationships, and general wellbeing are all good reasons to seek help.
The earlier that someone gets help, the better their outcome is likely to be.
Signs that support is needed include symptoms lasting more than a month, difficulty functioning, relationship strain, using substances to cope, or thoughts of self-harm.
Waiting to see if things get better often results in symptoms getting worse. The longer a person waits, the worse their chances of a full recovery become.
Bringing It All Together
PTSD is a condition that can be treated.
With the right therapeutic approach, a person can and will have a significant reduction in their symptoms. There are a number of evidence-based treatments out there that have helped many trauma survivors get their life back.
The journey is not always going to be easy. It takes bravery to work through traumatic memories and experiences and deal with difficult emotions that come up.
But the alternative is not living at all.
A brain that learned fear can learn safety again. This is the promise and power of PTSD therapy: a path out of fear, and a path back to living.
