There are a variety of options to help with PTSD. This may be confusing at first. But the good news is that if one doesn’t help much, another is likely to work better for you.

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Free Online Self-Guided Trauma & Self-Care Recovery Course for Victims/Survivors of Sexual Abuse or Assault at any age from Somerset & Avon Rape & Sexual Abuse Support ​

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Treatment Options for PTSD

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)--helps you control your reaction to bad memories; often gives a lot of relief in just a few sessions

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which helps you stop the cycle of bad thoughts, bad feelings, and bad actions or other

• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy--uses the way trauma is carried in the body as a guide to healing

• Somatic Experiencing (SE)--body-focused healing, based on the reality that trauma is held and experienced in the body

• International Institute for Trauma & Addiction Professionals Search Tool

• Talk Therapy/Psychotherapy

• Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy--helps you gradually face your fears and triggers so they bother you less

• Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) – treatment for nightmares

• Medication--can be helpful, when used along with other therapies, to calm severe symptoms such as extreme anxiety or depression

• Mindfulness can help, but be sure you are practicing trauma-aware mindfulness, as paying close attention to yourself can trigger PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks or dissociation

• Trauma Recovery Coaching--such as this certified coach, who is a survivor of sibling sexual, physical and emotional abuse

 

Overwhelmed by the choices and don’t know where to start?

• Treatment Decision Guide for PTSD

• Mini-Videos explaining PTSD Treatment Options

• 101 Trauma-Informed Interventions by Linda Curran is a book that has many more ideas and exercises to try

• Three Healing Modalities To Manage Complex Trauma | by Josephine Anne Lauren | Better Humans 

 

Additional Resources

Sexual Trauma and PTSD

• RAINN: PTSD

• Texas A&M: PTSD After Sexual Assault

• Trauma Recovery 101 video series with incest survivor and advocate Nubia DuVall Wilson and trauma recovery coach Monika Hendrix

• Chivers-Wilson KA. Sexual assault and posttraumatic stress disorder: a review of the biological, psychological and sociological factors and treatments. Mcgill J Med. 2006 Jul;9(2):111-8. PMID: 18523613; PMCID: PMC2323517.

 

General PTSD Information

• Matthew Tull, PhD, VeryWellMind.com: How PTSD is Treated

• US Dept of Veterans Affairs: National Center for PTSD

• National Institute of Mental Health: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Mental Health Foundation of the UK: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Health Promotion Agency of New Zealand: A traumatic experience can have long-lasting effects

• Bruce Perry, MD, PhD & Oprah Winfrey: What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing 

 

PTSD in teens and children 

• National Center for PTSD: PTSD in Children and Adolescents

• Merck Manual Consumer Version: Acute and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders in Children and Adolescents 

• Royal College of Psychiatrists: Traumatic Stress in Children: For Parents and Caregivers

 

Recovery from Sexual Trauma for Men 

• 1in6.org: Recovery & Therapy

 

Resources for US Military and Veterans (regardless of the source of your trauma) 

• Self-Check 10 minute Quiz

• Sexual Assault Safe Helpline

 

Somatic Healing, Body/Mind Connection

• Healingfromchronicpain.com website about trauma-based chronic pain, created by survivor of sibling sexual trauma 

• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, classic book on the interplay of trauma, brain, and body

• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy by Pat Ogden and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute

• Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine and Somatic Experiencing International

• The Body Bears the Burden by Robert Scaer

• The Mindbody Prescription by John E. Sarno