Hi Klmno,
I found some hits online. It seems to be directed toward PTSD, for military veterans and rape victims. I think it grew out of older therapies (aka cognitive therapy). It seems pretty valid. It involves talking, as well as having the patient write down specifics.
Why do your therapists not tell you what sort of therapy you or your difficult child are getting? Can't you just ask the front desk person b4 you make an appointment? Just wondering.
Here's an example:
Reviewed by
Priscilla Schulz, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
from an article of the same title by:
Patricia A. Resick and Monica K. Schnicke, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Published:
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
V. 60 (5), 748-756, 1992
Why is this article important to providers serving sexual assault survivors?
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a treatment specifically designed to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in sexual assault survivors. This article describes the theoretical basis behind a cognitive processing approach, and presents data from a preliminary outcome study. Certain aspects of PTSD are common among rape survivors. CPT is designed to treat these specific aspects of PTSD. The study presented looks at the effectiveness of CPT when used in a group format with rape survivors suffering with chronic PTSD.
What is the origin of cognitive processing therapy for sexual assault survivors?
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) combines information processing theory and knowledge gleaned from prolonged exposure treatments that have been effective in alleviating PTSD in survivors of other traumas. In particular, CPT draws upon an information processing theory of PTSD that proposes that information about a traumatic event is stored in the brain in "fear networks." These networks consist of memories of traumatic stimuli and responses along with their meanings. The entire network is designed to stimulate avoidance behavior in the trauma survivor to prevent future threat to survival. Unfortunately, as researchers have discovered, these "fear networks" seem to be responsible for a set of beliefs or expectations (schemata) of trauma survivors that causes them to have an attentional bias toward evidence of threat, ambiguous or otherwise, and to disregard evidence to the contrary. Such attention to cues of threat serves to trigger typical fear responses of escape and avoidance, and seems to account for the re-experiencing phenomena of PTSD.