Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a specific type of cognitive-behavioural therapy that has been developed for working with people who have experienced trauma and have symptoms of PTSD. CPT is often helpful for people who have experienced sexual abuse/assault and war veterans, but has also been used for other kinds of traumatic events people may experience.
CPT supports clients to understand how the traumatic event has impacted their belief systems. This includes their beliefs about why the event happened, and how it has impacted their views of themselves, others, and the world across the domains of safety, trust, power/control, self-esteem, and intimacy.
One of the main premises of CPT is that clients may have become ‘stuck’ in certain ways of thinking, which keeps them stuck in experiencing PTSD symptoms. The goal of CPT is to help clients become more flexible in their thinking in order to get ‘unstuck’ so their PTSD symptoms can resolve.
CPT is a highly structured treatment. Each week the therapist guides the client to learn a new psychological skill, which is outlined on a worksheet, and supports the goal of becoming ‘unstuck’. The skill usually involves helping clients to question and consider the ways in which they have been thinking about the event and its impact, and to help explore alternative perspectives therefore becoming more flexible in their thinking. The skill needs to be practised every day on a worksheet before the next session.
Each week the therapist tracks the client’s symptoms which can help to identify areas where the client may be experiencing difficulties with symptoms. As well as informing treatment considerations, weekly symptom tracking also allows the client and therapist to see progress during treatment. Clients are often surprised at how relatively quickly their symptoms start to improve once they are in active treatment, particularly if they have been suffering from symptoms of PTSD for several months or years.
Although it can be challenging for clients to start to confront their traumatic experiences in CPT, clients are supported to understand that having avoided thinking about the trauma has also inadvertently kept them ‘stuck’ in the symptoms of PTSD. CPT provides a supportive space to come to terms with what has happened. Although CPT involves facing the issue head on, it does not involve prolonged exposure. Clients will not be asked to repeatedly re-hash the details of what happened during the event (as can occur in prolonged exposure therapy). Instead, clients are supported to talk about the ways in which the event has subsequently impacted them.
As a therapist, offering CPT is incredibly rewarding as clients will have a transformative journey in the ways they think about, process, and come to terms with what has happened. Coming to terms with the traumatic event then allows clients to step back into the world, where they may have previously withdrawn. Clients are able to get back to living life on their terms.
On average, CPT is a 12-session treatment however may involve more or fewer sessions depending on the client. It is a highly active and involved treatment, with weekly sessions and daily homework tasks (one worksheet per day) and clients do need to be able to commit to this to see the benefits from treatment. If the time is right however, it can be a rewarding and transformative journey.
The podcast episode ‘Ten sessions’ by This American Life is a helpful resource if you would like to dip your toe into listening to a client and therapist journey of CPT.
Kendall offers CPT treatment at Curious Minds Studio. If you are interested in CPT treatment, please send an email to reception@curiousmindsstudio.com.au.
Comments