Study Reveals One on One PTSD Therapy is Way Better than A Group Session

PTSD therapy conducted in the army Shows that Army personnel actively serving in the military and those who sustain combat-related PTSD have a better chance of recovery by receiving cognitive behavioral therapy individually than those sharing A Group Therapy. JAMA psychiatry has published this article in November; Study reveals promising results in improving the patients irrespective of the method. Those who had one-to-one PTSD Therapy had a clear advantage over those receiving Group Therapy.

A person gets a different view of its problem in this Therapy; when looking with the eye of cognitive processing therapy. “Socratic questioning” is the technique used by the therapists. Socrates has the philosophy that people know themselves best. They know what can Trigger their feelings, how they react to a certain situation, what hurts the most and what makes them happy. In this way, they are more likely to find happiness in their life themselves with PTSD Therapy. He also declared he knew nothing.

A person can look at the different events, Even those who are traumatic, differently from this bird’s eye view; they see it with a different perspective with an open mind. Such an open brain can give liberty to a person living with PTSD therapy, particularly when caught up in the traumatic moments “stuck points”. Sometimes they come up with trust issues’ “I do not trust anyone anymore”. A therapist has to ask questions that might help someone in PTSD Therapy, To get to the cause of the issue—addressing the trust issues that make them able to trust people again based on their logic, reasoning and answers. These questions help therapists understand the event and trauma, which led them to stress that may have become foggy during the time.

A good therapist must have the abilities to probe” why”, the reason behind stress and then, after knowing the root cause, he can help the patients. The basis of his PTSD therapy is the answer of the patients.

A study was conducted by Patricia Resick, a Duke University Medical Center student, enrolling active-duty Army personnel 268, those who had sought PTSD Therapy at Ford Hood Center, Taxes. All Vardi veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq war. Accept 24 all were men, with the mean age of 33.

Participants had to go through randomized control trials to receive Group PTSD Therapy or CPT individually Twice a week for six weeks. Study duration was the same with equal time for both groups. All participants had some other issue as well, like alcohol abuse aur depression. The team did ethical considerations, and participants with homicidal or suicidal thoughts were sidelined and excluded from this research.

Veterans health administration is concerned about the ease of access to psychotherapy for individuals enrolled for PTSD Therapy, and retention in treatment is a major concern. Some may prefer individual therapy, but Group Therapy makes tretment available to all by improving access to psychotherapy. The study focused on the adequacy of treatment among VA patients with PTSD Therapy, Comparing whether individual treatment is group treatment is better than the other. The sample consisted of all VA patients who visited a subspecialty clinic. Negatively done binomial regression analysis and other techniques like Logistics examine the relationship of psychotherapy and encounters and modality, During the study duration. Patients receiving Group Therapy seek more visits than those getting individual therapy. They are about twice as likely to receive therapeutic doses of more than eight psychotherapy Encounters. Greater adequacy means they have greater access and can more frequently attend PTSD Therapy sessions. 

Suicidal thoughts are not increased in cognitive processing therapy even though trauma is the focus of the PTSD Therapy. According to the BSSI, the amount of suicidal ideation lowered significantly from 18% to 6% in the groups who received either therapy format. These results should remove all the ambiguities and questions regarding the engagement in trauma-focused treatment. There is no suicidal ideation, and studies even stress that PTSD Therapy reduces the suicide rate in active-duty military personnel.

Half of The Study Participants Were Not Helped by Therapy

CPT Was significantly helpful for most of those enrolled in both programs of the group and individual therapy. Still, one-half of the patients continue to have stress symptoms And significantly PTSD therapy-related symptoms. Depression was most common; however other symptoms improved.  

The writer summarized the whole discussion as individual therapy is better than Group Therapy because receiving individual therapy gives a better chance to get better one-on-one attention. In case of missing a session, he can personally schedule PTSD Therapy For himself.

The success of one therapy over the other can be argued with different possible explanations why a group or individual PTSD Therapy better over the other. The most strong point is that participants in group CPT are more likely to miss a session and lose precious content that cannot have a replacement. Participants of individual therapy have the flexibility of time they can reschedule as per need. Second, the strong point is that veterans received less individual attention in the group; guys having difficulty understanding or comprehending some content may not have adequate support. Third, group sessions might result in patients feeling less accountable for their practice assignments. This may reduce their interest in engagement with PTSD Therapy.

The study was unable to address the prevalent stigma of having PTSD therapy. The military attitude of “suck it up” or “be tough” suppresses personnel’s emotional side. Miss USA Deshauna Barber had Foundations Recovery Network recent interview; She is an on-duty member. She explained that Had planned to use her miss USA platform to help the cause and advance the national conversation about these issues come with the helpful solution for the patients with PTSD therapy.

In another recent review of primarily veteran samples, statistically, large improvements were observed with evidence-based treatments for many patients in PTSD Therapy, but treatment non-response rates for some patients were high. It is an emergency and a national crisis to address post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans because the US is at war for several decades. Increasing violence in society is a problem that we will have to address collectively. The suicide rate is skyrocketing in the military both among active-duty service members and veterans, and now the issue has attracted national attention. The problem of PTSD therapy is not confined to the soldiers of veterans; anyone can be the victim who has experienced severe trauma, Which can hinder a person from working and living a healthy life, and consequences may be severe. They can lead them to loneliness and homelessness, wandering on the streets.

More Research is Needed on the Co-Occurrence of PTSD therapy and Substance Abuse

People with PTSD therapy are terrified, angry, raged, anxious, and don’t trust other people or function socially. They turn to drugs and alcohol; their feelings end up in worse condition. For more people, it makes the issue just like throwing gasoline on the fire. This increasing issue in society is setting society on fire. A similar story is of Robert H, who is in his 17th year of sobriety. However, even after his recovery and becoming sober, he found that his life still felt unnatural. 

“I was angry all the time and then was diagnosed with PTSD. I was unwillingly self-medicating myself and got expelled from the army. And then, CTS OF 18 WEEKS ended this last week. I was mentally disabled in my 45 years of life. PTSD Therapy helped me, and I was saved from relapse”.

Robert adds: “I’ve now been sober for over 17 years thanks to my 12-Step program which is helpful in PTSD Therapy. And I’m still married to the same woman. Amazing.”

“Some soldiers don’t feel for any kind of help (PTSD Therapy) and don’t go for it. Your experience can not be compared. You have fought a war. Your experience is different from others. Your mind sees it in your way. You have your strengths and weaknesses, and you have to deal with the matter in your way. You are an individual fighter here. Veterans that are struggling within themselves need to be open and honest with themselves, and there is no need to compare your experience with your fellows”, According to Anderson. 

As a result, these findings contribute to the growing body of literature that suggests PTSD therapy with combat-related experiences is complex and difficult to treat.  Resick and colleagues believe that there is much need to be done to improve the treatment facilities for the service members with PTSD therapy. There is a need to do more research on the topic” Specific issues regarding military life should be addressed in future research. That will improve PTSD Therapy “. They have written, “Areas for the need to be explored are; the role of comorbidities, for example, depression, substance abuse, brain injury, and sleep disorders, Potential of moral injury aur insult to the morals and beliefs resulting from a war; Aftermaths of War and terrorism, death of pears Including of a close friend”. All this research can be used to improve PTSD Therapy. 

Sources
1. Resick, P. et al. (2016, Nov. 23). “Effect of Group vs Individual Cognitive Processing Therapy in Active-Duty Military Seeking Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” JAMA Psychiatry. Retrieved Dec. 8, 2016, from http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2587076
2. Robert H. (2015, Dec. 3). 17 years sober. Heroes in Recovery. Retrieved Dec. 8, 2016, from http://heroesinrecovery.com/stories/17-years-sober/

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