PTSD, short for post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychological condition that affects some who have experienced or been around a life-threatening event. PTSD was first diagnosed in soldiers returning from Vietnam but had been around for many years before the Vietnam War and was often referred to as " shellshock." PTSD causes sufferers to experience frightening flashbacks and hypervigilance during times when heightened adrenaline is not necessary. Many modern psychological interventions, including schema therapy, help PTSD sufferers cope.
Schema Therapy
In general, schemas are pervasive themes that are developed during childhood that impact how a person views himself and his relationship with others. Instead of viewing each event as a unique occurrence, people tend to view things in a way that fits into what they already think about themselves. For example, someone who has been through trauma could view a new occurrence of trauma from a negative perspective of himself, blaming the reason on the fact that he thinks he is not a strong individual or because he is a bad person. Schema therapy helps clients change the self-defeating schemas that are present and helps them get in touch with their true feelings.
Schema Therapy with PTSD
For people suffering from PTSD, schema therapy helps them evaluate the traumatic events they went through and helps them increase their ability to self-soothe when flashbacks and hypervigilance occur. Instead of dwelling on their feelings of helplessness during the trauma, clients are presented with a new schema that focuses on their abilities to survive the trauma because of their strength and abilities.
Imagery Rescripting
An area of schema therapy that has been relevant to those suffering from PTSD is imagery rescripting, which helps the client conceptualize how the past trauma makes up his current schemas within his thoughts and actions. The therapist guides the client suffering from PTSD through imagining the traumatic event that causes his dysfunction and helps him develop new ways of thinking about the event. Throughout the process, alternative schemas are presented to the client in which he reassesses his feelings of guilt and hopelessness and builds more adaptive ways of thinking about the trauma.
Modifying Ingrained Beliefs
A major part of PTSD is that a client’s feelings are deeply ingrained about why the trauma happened and his own lack of abilities to cope throughout the process. Because of this, PTSD treatment may be a slow, laborious process in which the therapist will need to continue to develop a schema to replace the deeply ingrained beliefs that are present. It also places importance on developing new ways to cope with difficulties faced in life, as the client moves forward.
