1. Family Participation in an Inpatient Care Program
Post-traumatic stress disorder can cause psychological complications, including symptoms of depression and panic and anxiety disorders. Other patients might develop drug and alcohol addictions as they try to escape painful memories. If you fit this mold, you may benefit from placement in an inpatient-treatment facility.
If your doctor recommends that you take part in an inpatient care program, your family members and close loved ones will usually be able to participate. Many treatment centers conduct special family therapy and education sessions at designated intervals during the treatment schedule. During these sessions, your family members will learn to communicate more effectively with you and each other while receiving instruction on behavior modifications that can help you cope with your symptoms.
2. Seeking Dedicated Family Therapy Sessions
If your particular case of PTSD permits, you may be referred to an outpatient-care program instead, so that you can continue living your everyday life while receiving treatment. Normally, outpatient programs provide for both individual counseling and group therapy. Many mental-health facilities also offer family-oriented programs to help your loved ones better understand how to help you.
PTSD patients almost invariably suffer from behavioral changes and become uncommunicative, angry, isolated or withdrawn. Dedicated family therapy can help you reopen the lines of communication between you and your loved ones, with the goal of fostering mutual understanding.
3. Alternatives to Traditional Approaches to Therapy
Sometimes the traditional approach to family therapy led by a counselor doesn't work. If this is the case for you, you might seek a different approach. A new technique called graphic family therapy holds promise. This approach uses graphic exercises, which are then analyzed by the therapist for the purpose of showing communication gaps between family members. First developed as an alternative model to marital therapy, graphic family therapy sessions may be the answer if your family continues to experience difficulties after counseling.
