FELIPE1

LissetteFelipe
BrianCahoon
SeniorCapstone
March21,2016
Title

AccordingtoKristeenCherney,Behavioraltherapyisatreatmentthathelpschange

potentiallyselfdestructingbehaviors
.
Behavioraltherapistsdealwithtonsofpersonalityand
mentaldisorders.Thedisordersthatbehavioraltherapistinclude,posttraumaticstressdisorders.
PTSDisamentalhealthconditionthat'striggeredbyaterrifyingevent(Mayoclinic.org).
Behavioraltherapistsimprovethelivesofthesepatientsbybeingattentivelisteners,
reservingjudgementatalltimesandbyteachingtheirpatientshowtocopewiththeir
problemsontheirown.
Talkingtoothersincluding,friendsandfamilyisnevereasy.Becauseofthispeopletend
tokeepallthesefeelingsandthoughtstothemselvesandthathasmanydownsides.Suppressing
whatyoufee
lcauseslotsofunnecessarytension,stressanddistress(2016)whichmaylaterlead
togreaterrisks.Peoplethatsufferfromposttraumaticstressdisordertendtohaveavery
difficulttimediscussingtheirfeelingsbecausethesepatientshavepossiblydealtwithchild
abuse,rapeandhavingbeeninwarandtheywouldrathertrytoforgetaboutthesefeelingsbut
thisisnotgoodfortheirwellbeing.Manypeoplemightthink,whydonttheyjustgetoverit?
Butthisisntaseasyasitsounds.Peoplethatsufferfromposttraumaticstressdisordertendto
haveveryvividflashbackanditisntsomethingthatcanbeshutoff.Becauseofthese
experiencestheyvehadittriggerscertainpartsofthebrain.Thepartsofthebrainthat

FELIPE2

posttraumaticstressdisordertriggersisthehippocampus,theamygdala,andventromedial
prefrontalcortex.(CITE)Thehippocampusiswhereindividualsareabletostoretheirnew
memories.ThiseffectsPTSDbecausetheyarenotabletodistinguishbetweenrecentandold
memories.Thiscausesthemtohaveanextremestressresponsewhenevertheyareinasituation
thatremotelyremindsthemofaplacethatcausedthemtobetraumatised
.Anexampleusedby
WLASSOFFwaswhenavictimofsexualassaultentersapackingtheyareterrifiedbecauseof
thefactthatitremindsthemofwhentheywererapedinasimilarplace.Therearemanyways
thatabehavioraltherapistcanhelptheirpatientsthatsufferfromposttraumaticstressdisorder
andotherdisorders.
Thefirststepwhenenteringtherapyitisimportantforthepatienttobeabletoopenupto
theirtherapistinordertobeabletoidentifythepatientsproblem.Manymightbeabitiffyabout
pouringalltheirthoughtsandfeelingstoacompletestrangerbecausetheyfeelasiftheyare
goingtobesecretlyjudged.This,howeverisnotthecase,fortherapistitisveryimportantto
alwaysbetransparent.Transparencymeanslettingitpassthroughthem,thisincludesanytypeof
personalbias(Formica).Posttraumaticstressdisorderisverycommonamongveteransreturning
fromwar.Imaginehavingthemshareallthehorriblethingstheywentthroughinwarandthe
therapistreactingtoeverythingnotinawellmanner.Forexample,sayingOhmygodIcannot
believehowyouwentthroughallthis.Thisisnotgoingtohelpthepatientatalltheyaregoing
tofeelevenworse,likethatwasaverybadthinghavethemthinkingthattheyreallyarenot
goingtobeabletogetthroughtheseexperiencestheyhavebeenthrough.Sotherapistsshould
alwayssimplylistentotheirpatientsandtheirproblemswithoutanytypeofreactions,whetherit
beverbalorphysicallyshownthroughyourfacebecauseapatientsshouldnotfeelasiftheyare

FELIPE3

beingjudgedwhentheygotoatherapist.Afterthetherapisthasattentivelylistenedtheyshould
identifywhatthepatientisstuckonandfindwhatstrategyisgoingtohelpbesttheirpatient.For
PTSDtherearemanyformsoftreatment.Forexample,musclerelaxationwhichisveryuseful
becausewhenyourbodyisphysicallyrelaxeditcausespatientsnottofeelthestressoranxiety
anylonger(HealthwiseStaff).Alsoanotherformoftreatmentformanydisordersisjustteaching
patientshowtobemorepositivethinkingineverysituation.Anexampleofthisiswhenaperson
isontheroadandanotherpersoncutsthemoff,thiswillcausethemtobeinabadmood,
however,iftheyweretochangetheirwayofthinkingandsimplystopandthinkHmm..maybe
theywererushingtothehospitalthiswillleavethemfeelingbetter.Orifawarveteranis
terrifiedofgoingtoanytypeofstorebecausethatiswherebombinghappenedthatleftthem
traumatisedatherapisthastohelpthemdealwiththat,reassuringthatnothingisgoingtohappen
andthattheyaresafe.Soiftheyareoutandtheystarttohaveanxietythepatienthastoremind
themselvesthattheyaresafeandhavepositivethoughtsatalltimes.Thisiseffectivebecausethe
patientistaughttocopewiththeiranxietyandstressontheirown.Thereisalsogrouptherapy
whichisveryeffectivebecauseithelpspeopleconnectandfeelliketheyarentalonebecause
theyaretalkingtopeoplethatareinsimilarsituations.
Manypeoplemightbelievebehavioraltherapyhasnoaffectonaperson,bothgoodor
bad.Butstatisticsshowthatanestimatedaboutofeighteenthroughtwentytwoveteranscommit
suicideeachdayduetolackoftreatment(NAMI).Also,astudydoneonfortypatients
undergoingtreatmentshowedasignificantamountofimprovementonpatientswith
posttraumaticstressdisorder.Sessionsandtreatmentswiththeirpatientshelpeddecrease
depressionandanxietycausedbyPTSD(2015).

FELIPE4

Asaconclusion,behavioraltherapyisextremelyeffectiveinmanymentaldisorders
includingposttraumaticstressdisorders.Behavioraltherapistareabletoimprovethelivesof
theirpatientsbybeingattentivelisteners,beteachingtheirpatientshowtocopewiththeir
problemsandbyreservingjudgementatalltimes.

FELIPE5

WorksCited
Wlassoff,Viatcheslav."NEUROSCIENCE&NEUROLOGY16CommentsHowDoesPostTraumaticStressDisorder
ChangetheBrain?."
BrainBlogger
.N.p.,24Jan.2015.Web.28Mar.2016.
.
Formica,MichelJ."BecomingTransparentandGettingOutofOurOwnWay."
PsychoogyToday
.N.p.,3Nov.2008.
Web.28Mar.2016.
"TheDangersofKeepingYourFeelingstoYourself(andWhattoDoAboutIt)."
TheSedonaMethod
.N.p.,July2010.
Web.28Mar.2016.
"Theeffectivenessofcognitivebehavioraltherapywithrespecttopsychologicalsymptomsandrecovering
autobiographicalmemoryinpatientssufferingfromposttraumaticstressdisorder."
USNationalLibraryofMedicineNational
InstitutesofHealth
.N.p.,19Feb.2015.Web.28Mar.2016.

http://www.m.webmd.com/atozguides/stressmanagementdoingprogressivemusclerelaxatio
n