Optimizing CBT for PTSD

In this comprehensive volume, Lily Brown offers concise, evidence-based guidance on how to leverage cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for patients experiencing PTSD. She analyzes common challenges clinicians face when attempting to adhere to treatment manuals and proposes solutions that practitioners can offer to enhance patient outcomes. This book offers a step-by-step guide for implementing principles of CBT for PTSD, including in vivo exposure, imaginal exposure, behavioral activation, and processing trauma-related cognitions. The author further explores broad ways to support patients of trauma in their healing journey, including working with survivors of intimate partner violence, navigating the legal context of surviving a trauma, and eliciting support from concerned loved ones. Finally, this book suggests ways to optimally support clinicians as they are learning to implement CBT, from supervision to the prioritization of the therapist's well-being. This volume is a must-read for clinical psychologists, mental health professionals, and students who want to apply the science of CBT to PTSD and ensure the delivery of successful treatment to PTSD patients.