Why new psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder?

The efficacy of psychotherapeutic and pharmacotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be regarded as empirically demonstrated. Overall, effect sizes seem to be higher for psychotherapy as compared with medication. Psychotherapy for PTSD includes the following approaches: cognitive-behavioral therapy; eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR); psychodynamic therapy; and brief eclectic psychotherapy. Treatment for PTSD should not focus exclusively on specific symptoms such as flashbacks and avoidance, but on basic life changes and existential questions as well, since such issues are of relevance for patients who suffer from chronic PTSD.

Journal

English

Ulrich Schnyder

Schnyder, U. (2005, June). Why new psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder? Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 74(4), 199-201. doi:10.1159/000085142