Alternative Therapies for PTSD

This book surveys promising alternatives to CBT and prolonged exposure therapy that are easier for trauma survivors to tolerate. It explores their strengths and limitations and provides practical guidelines for implementation.

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This book explores promising alternative therapies for trauma survivors who have difficulty with traditional treatment approaches. 

Standard psychological treatments that are often used to treat PTSD, including cognitive behavioral therapy and prolonged exposure therapy, involve revisiting past traumas, which can cause intense anxiety for clients and often leads to treatment dropout. Author Robert Motta draws from his professional expertise as a trauma therapist, and from his personal experiences as a military veteran seeking effective, accessible methods of treating his own PTSD. He summarizes what is known—as well as what is still unknown or unproven—along with other strengths and limitations of various nontraditional approaches, including mindfulness meditation, yoga, acupuncture, animal‑ and nature-assisted therapies, emotional freedom techniques, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

These treatments are appropriate for clients with a wide range of trauma histories including war, rape, childhood abuse, or a car accident. Clinical vignettes provide practical insights for implementing these interventions with individuals of various ages and backgrounds.