The four categories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are re-experiencing, avoidance, negative changes in thoughts and beliefs and hyperarousal (feeling keyed up). I’ve talked about the first two categories already and, so, today I want to discuss the changes in thoughts and beliefs associated with combat PTSD.
Combat PTSD Psychotherapy
Various types of psychotherapy are effective at treating trauma survivors and one type of psychotherapy for combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is exposure therapy. Exposure therapy has been well-studied within the military population and involves PTSD survivors re-experiencing their trauma. While this may sound terrible, it’s actually a very effective way of dealing with trauma. Prolonged exposure therapy currently has the best supporting evidence.
Both medication and psychotherapy are often used in the treatment of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychotherapy in combat PTSD treatment is more common than the use of medication; nevertheless, medication can be important for many. Both types of treatment have their place and should be considered by those suffering from combat-related PTSD.