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

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

Prolonged Exposure therapy is an effective, highly flexible, and very well-researched intervention to reduce the symptoms of PTSD across a variety of traumatized populations. The manual and companion patient workbook provide all the specifics of the PE protocol for providers to implement with efficacy and fidelity in order to maximize patient response. With the second edition, the authors have revised throughout to reflect the many advances in PTSD research that have occurred since the first edition. These advances include key modifications to the underlying theory, as well as additional evidence of modifications and individualization for more complex patient presentations and to military populations. As leaders in the clinical practice, training, and research in the field of PTSD treatment, the authors provide concise but thorough description of the key components of the program, how to implement them, as well as when and how to consider adaptations.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Counselling

200 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.