Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Ptsd: Emotional Processing of Traumatic Experiences--Therapist Guide

by Edna B. Foa, Barbara Olasov Rothbaum, Elizabeth A. Hembree

An estimated 70% of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives. Though most recover on their own, up to 20% develop chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. For these people, overcoming PTSD requires the help of a professional.

This guide gives clinicians the information they need to treat clients who exhibit the symptoms of PTSD. It is based on the principles of Prolonged Exposure Therapy, the most scientifically-tested and proven treatment that has been used to effectively treat victims of all types of trauma. Whether your client is a veteran of combat, a victim of a physical or sexual assault, or a casualty of a motor vehicle accident, the techniques and strategies outlined in this book will help.

In this treatment clients are exposed to imagery of their traumatic memories, as well as real-life situations related to the traumatic event in a step-by-step, controllable way. Through these exposures, your client will learn to confront the trauma and begin to think differently about it, leading to a marked decrease in levels of anxiety and other PTSD symptoms. Clients are provided education about PTSD and other common reactions to traumatic events. Breathing retraining is taught as a method for helping the client manage anxiety in daily life.

Designed to be used in conjunction with the corresponding client workbook, this therapist guide includes all the tools necessary to effectively implement the prolonged exposure program including assessment measures, session outlines, case studies, sample dialogues, and homework assignments. This comprehensive resource is an exceptional treatment manual that is sure to help you help your clients reclaim their lives from PTSD.

Treatments ThatWork TM represents the gold standard of behavioral healthcare interventions!

- All programs have been rigorously tested in clinical trials and are backed by years of research

- A prestigious scientific advisory board, led by series Editor-In-Chief David H. Barlow, reviews and evaluates each intervention to ensure that it meets the highest standard of evidence so you can be confident that you are using the most effective treatment available to date

- Our books are reliable and effective and make it easy for you to provide your clients with the best care available

- Our corresponding workbooks contain psychoeducational information, forms and worksheets, and homework assignments to keep clients engaged and motivated

- A companion website offers downloadable clinical tools and helpful resources

- Continuing Education (CE) Credits are now available on select titles in collaboration with PsychoEducational Resources, Inc. (PER)

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Counselling

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2007

About the author

Edna B. Foa, PhD, is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. The treatment program she has developed for PTSD sufferers has received the highest evidence for its efficacy and has been widely disseminated in the US and around the world.

Reviews

[Kate]

i love doing trauma treatment
let's be free, ya know?

[Mandy Tewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and will definitely utilize it moving forward. I do a lot of DBT, so I can really see using this book for Phase II of that treatment. I do wish that the book had more information on how to use emotional processing with complex cases.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Den fungerade!!!

[Fjóla Ósk]

les bara meðferðarhandbækur þessa stundina 🥲

[Greta Cribbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may be a little dry for the average reader. It is not written for easy reading; it is written for professionals in the field of psychology to help them best treat their patients. As such, it lacks the anecdotes, helpful tips, clearly labeled breaks after very short sections, and mild humor that generally characterize books written for the average lay person.

However, this book was exactly what I needed. I'm currently writing a new mystery book and one of my main characters is a former psychologist turned detective who, in the course of the investigation, meets a man suffering from severe PTSD. I needed the detective's psychology background to come into play in her interactions with this man, so I looked up common therapies for PTSD which, of course, led me to exposure therapy. In a search for books on the topic, this one came up.

It had the exact level of specific detail I needed to write my scenes with what I hope is a fair degree of accuracy. As a bonus, in addition to the detailed descriptions of the therapy itself, there is also extensive discussion of the ways PTSD can manifest itself in different people, which I hope has helped me make my traumatized character as believable as possible.

I'm not sure who I recommend this book for. The professionals for whom it is written surely already know of it and have possibly been required to read it as part of their training. It is not a self-help book for people with PTSD, so I wouldn't make that recommendation. So I guess I would recommend it to fellow writers who, like me, want to tackle these issues in their books and need a little help getting all the details right.

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best treatments for PTSD with the research showing incredible outcomes for people living with PTSD, many of whom no longer meet criteria PTSD at the end of treatment and most of people having at least a significant decrease in symptomatology.

It's a challenging treatment and requires a lot of work. It's not for everyone, a person needs to be ready and willing.

There is hope for recovery from PTSD!

[Charla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for treating PTSD, very specific about what needs to happen in session and love that many of the client resources for homework are available on the ttw site. My only beef was wishing the sessions were set up for 53-60 min sessions instead of 90 since that is what the majority of community therapists who bill insurance (including myself) are able to charge/bill/schedule.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful resource, but certainly not a standalone without a PE training.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me understand why EMDR works.

[Joseph Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that outlines PE, an evidence based procedure for PTSD. Enjoyable and to the point.

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good manual.

Very good training for clinicians working with PTSD.

5/5 ⭐️

[Aivee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lol why is this Book on my Goodreads? Must be because I bought it off of Amazon.

Anyway, I don't do much PE (like.... at all), but at least I have the therapist guide when I need it.

[Kimberly Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful guide for anyone interested in this approach to emotionally processing trauma. Reminds us that trauma needs to be processed in multiple ways, both verbally and non-verbally. For those struggling to do so - the helpful companionship of a skilled exposure therapist may be the life-giving intervention that will make all the difference.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful with some good scripts for treatment, but I wasn't a big fan of their handouts/charts. They are simple, but not particularly user-friendly or appealing. It would have been nice to have something beyond what I could have just written down myself.

[ette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about a very manualized treatment, but the statistics on efficacy are phenomenal.

[KR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful workbook. Good rough ideas and some useful scripts.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and resource. Good graduate school reference material also.