Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy is an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for PTSD and related concerns. PE involves four major concepts: (a) psychoeducation on reactions to trauma and PTSD symptoms; (b) breathing retraining for relaxing the nervous system; (c) exposure to real-world situations that are objectively safe but avoided due to trauma symptoms (in-vivo exposure); and (d) exposure to the trauma memory through repeated recounting of the traumatic event in the safety of the therapeutic space (imaginal exposure). PE requires a 90-minute, weekly commitment with homework related to engaging in in-vivo tasks, listening to audio recordings of session, and practicing breathing retraining.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a short-term cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD and trauma-related conditions. In CPT, the provider helps examine the impact of a traumatic event on the person’s life and helps to challenge and change unhelpful thoughts related to the event, as well as beliefs about oneself, others, and the world. Posttraumatic symptoms in the wake of traumatic events are normal and, for most people, tend to resolve over time. However, for those with PTSD, the recovery process has stalled, and CPT provides the opportunity to get “unstuck.” After experiencing a trauma, it is common to want to avoid thinking about the trauma and/or feeling emotions related to it. This avoidance limits one’s opportunity to make sense of the traumatic event and to experience the natural emotions related to it, which contributes to the development of PTSD. CPT teaches you to identify what you are saying to yourself about the trauma and the consequences of the trauma. These specific thoughts are termed “Stuck Points.” We then learn skills to examine and challenge Stuck Points in order to develop a healthier approach to your thoughts and emotions. CPT-A provides an opportunity to write down the traumatic experience multiple times throughout treatment, allowing you and I to look at tangible changes in your thought processes.

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidenced-based psychotherapy for treating children, adolescents, and young adults who have experienced trauma. This treatment assists clients with modifying negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that have become present as a result of a traumatic event. My role helps with explaining common reactions to trauma, normalizing symptoms as a normal reaction to an abnormal experience, and providing coping tools to add to your coping tool kit.

ACT for PTSD is grounded in helping you move towards a life worth living. With a focus on clarifying values and promoting psychological flexibility, our work together enhances experiential connection over experiential avoidance. This evidence-based psychotherapy connects you to the present moment, opens you up to experiencing previously avoided activities, builds acceptance of thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations; and develops skills to create distance between unhelpful patterns of thinking that are grounded in traumatic responses.