Running head: COUNSELLING THEORIES 1
Counselling Theories to fixed
Student Name
Course
Date
COUNSELLING THEORIES 2
Instructions
Counseling Theories.
You will apply Trauma therapy to the care of an individual with PTSD from the following
age groups:
child
adolescent
adult
older adult
How would you apply Trauma therapy to the treatment of PTSD in each age group?
You should prepare a three- to four-page Word document using APA format, headings,
and references.$
This is the list of the therapies from which you choose:
COUNSELLING THEORIES 3
COUNSELLING THEORIES 4
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder causes anxiety which may be deeply threatening to victims
because it denies them sleep, lowers self-esteem, causes unpleasant memories and reactions, as
well as leading to memory loss. Although PSTD can disturb normal life, it is can be treated
through long-term and short-term medications and psychotherapy (Emmerik & Kamphuis,
2015). Trauma therapy focuses on improving symptoms, teaching or training the victim
necessary skills of dealing with the trauma, and restoring the affected person back to normal life.
Most of the PSTD therapies fall under cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Trauma-Focused Cognitive: Behavioral Therapy in Adults
Trauma-Focused Cognitive: Behavioral Therapy is one of the modern evidence-based treatment
used to treatment of individuals impacted by trauma. Research has established that Trauma-
Focused Cognitive: Behavioral Therapy helps to resolve a wide array of emotional and
behavioral problems associated with all levels of complex trauma experience. It is a short-term
intervention that often lasts between 8-25 sessions depending on the patient’s condition. It is
also important to note that TF-CBT can be carried out in an outpatient mental health facility,
community centers as well as in-home settings. Hendricks (2019) says the therapist uses
cognitive behavioral techniques to modify the individual’s distorted, dangerous or unhelpful
thoughts and emotions. On the other hand, family therapy involves interactions among the
family members as well as other dynamics of family that may directly or indirectly contribute to
the patient’s mental health problem.
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Traumatic events such as loss of loved ones, disasters, and accidents lead to guilty, unhappiness,
stress, self-abuse and other mental health issues such as anxiety. PTSD in adults manifests in
various ways including stressful recurring thoughts and memories, emotional numbness,
insomnia and lack of concentration. To address these symptoms, TF-CBT integrates techniques
and theories of therapeutic interventions to improve the individual’s symptoms of post-traumatic
stress in adults. To achieve the best treatment outcome, the individual should seek the services of
a licensed mental health professional who has the requisite specialized training and experience in
CBT and family therapy. Equally important, he or he should find a therapist whom they are
comfortable talking or working with.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Adolescents
Trauma-Focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) is one of the best techniques
adapted from CBT and used in adolescents exposed to trauma because of its effectiveness in
handling trauma stress and its symptoms. This technique is evidence-based and entails taking
adolescents through a 16-20 sessions of treatment. Adolescents between the age of 9 and 18
years old can undergo through this treatment procedure (Goldbeck, 2012). This technique may
last for five to six months and includes outpatient sessions with the adolescents, parents or
caregivers. This treatment procedure has the ability to reduce post-traumatic symptoms and
depression in adolescents. The technique involves training adolescents and parents the required
skills to help in processing feelings and thoughts that may be triggered by traumatic life events.
The training also involves acquiring skills which are necessary managing and resolving
distressing feelings, behaviors, and thoughts which are related to traumatic experiences.
The processes of treatment entails psychoeducation on the trauma and resulting
outcomes, parenting skills, and coping and relaxation skills aimed at dealing with the feelings,
COUNSELLING THEORIES 6
thoughts and behaviors. It also entails taking the child through exposure tasks which involve
telling narratives, drawings, as well as any other imaginative tasks which will help the
adolescents change their thoughts and imaginations (Goldbeck, 2012). The therapy may also
entail training the adolescents on social and safety skills in order to enable the adolescents to
develop necessary skills of interactions. Such skills help them to develop many relationships
and attachments which are necessary for driving away any traumatic thought and imaginations.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive: Behavioral Therapy in children
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a type of psychotherapy treatment
developed to help children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Exposure to
traumatic events such as PTSD not only affect adults but children as well, and it can result in
various mental health problems. However, children unlike adults may have low awareness of
their feelings and emotions hence they cannot effectively express themselves. It is important to
note that TF-CBT targets adaptive as well as unhealthy thought patterns, feelings and behaviors
that an individual may suffer. In this particular case, TF-CBT will help the child modify the
inaccurate beliefs sand emotions that have caused unhealthy behaviors. In addition, TF-CBT can
be used to identify unhealthy behvioural patterns in order to modify them accordingly. One of
the major benefits of TB-CBT in treating children with PTSD is that it incorporates interventions
for parents and caregivers who were not involved the traumatic event. The child and her parents
will each participate in the therapy. However, in order to increase the effectiveness of the
treatment, the child and parents should first participate first separately and the later on they can
engage in joint sessions (Good Therapy, 2019).
Noteworthy, TB-CBT takes into account the importance of parental support to the child’s
recovery. Parents are emotionally, psychologically or even physically affected when their
COUNSELLING THEORIES 7
children suffer mental health problems. For this reason, TB-CBT emphasize teaching the parents
important skills such as stress management, healthy parenting styles, and effective
communication skills to help communicate and support their child.
TB-CBT works by taking the child and the parents/caregivers through several components
include psychoeducation and parenting skills, relaxation, emotional expression as well as
regulation, coping strategies and creation of effective trauma narratives.
Post Exposure Trauma Therapy in Older Adults
Post Exposure is the most preferred technique when dealing with PSTD in older adult
populations. The technique is based on emotional processing theory and builds its foundation
around the features of fear in the memory which include fear stimuli, physiological responses of
fear, and construal meaning of the stimuli and responses (Cook, Mccarthy & Thorp, 2017).
PSTD is believed to occur when people generalize fears to be emanating from all stimuli and
responses hence creating a perception that the world is constantly dangerous and that people are
helpless. As such, people inaccurate perceive that all stimuli are dangerous and life-threatening.
This interferes with normal life and the person will love under fear (Emmerik & Kamphuis,
2015). PE therapy therefore provides a framework where these fear features and structures can
be activated without causing fear responses in a person.
It also entails training the person to incorporate new information and perception in order
to distinguish between memory of traumatic events and real traumatic events. This is done
through giving the victim an opportunity to reevaluate past experiences and cognitions which
helps the person to challenge any existing fear structures leading to PSTD. PE therapy is
conducted in 8 to 15 sessions, each of 90 minutes, two times in a week (Cook, Mccarthy &
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Thorp, 2017). It entails psychoeducation, imaginal exposure, breathing retraining and vivo
exposure. Psychoeducation entails teaching victims about PSTD and common reactions and
judgements to trauma. Breathing training aims at reducing anxiety in the victims. In imaginal
exposure, victims recount details of disturbing events and repeatedly reads them loudly with the
eyes closed in order to counter the present feelings and thoughts (Cook, Mccarthy & Thorp,
2017). Vivo exposure involves bringing the victim into contact with places, objects of situations
that the victim has been avoiding due to past trauma.
Trauma therapy
This is an approach to mental health treatment where counselors employ to help patients
overcome psychological trauma. Essentially, there are various types of therapies that can be
done concurrently to help the patient deal with trauma while also moving on with their lives.
Some of the fundamental goals of trauma therapy include: to face reality of the past events
without necessarily getting stuck in it elimination of trauma symptoms, improve the individual’s
daily functions, and to reclaim his or her personal power. As mentioned earlier, trauma therapy is
not a single type of treatment but rather a variety of different therapies for individuals from
different ages.
Trauma therapy for children
One of the effective type of trauma therapy for children is Trauma-Focused Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT). Essentially, TFCBT entails teaching the patient about trauma and
its effects. The parents also must be educated on trauma and taught the necessary parenting styles
and skills that can help the child better understand and interact in healthier ways.
Trauma therapy for adolescents
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Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT) is also an appropriate trauma therapy
for treating adolescents. There, the counselor may teach the patient relaxation techniques that can
be used in the therapeutic process. Moreover, the patient maybe taught new ways of explaining
his or her feelings appropriately. In so doing, the counsellor examines the individual’s thoughts
related to the past traumatic event or experience in order to teach him how to adopt more helpful
thought patterns. In so doing, the patient is learns new ways of overcoming the effects of their
symptoms.
Trauma therapy for adult
One of the most appropriate trauma therapies for adults is Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.
Basically, this type of trauma therapy is based on uncovering the content and conflicts within an
individual’s unconscious mind. Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is founded on the assumption that
that problems develop from childhood experiences. Also, it also takes into consideration the
effects of interpersonal relationships on a person’s thoughts, feelings emotion, and behavior.
Essentially, this therapy entails a patient talking about his or her symptoms and the traumatic
event that behind the problem through a technique known as free association. The patient says
anything that comes to mind while the therapist helps him or her identify the defense
mechanisms that can help them from feeling of distress.
Trauma therapy for adult
For older adults, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an appropriate
trauma therapy. It is one of the newest types of psychotherapy that primarily seeks to help
individual’s process traumatic experiences in healthier ways. This type of therapy is based on
the assumption that the human mind is constantly moving towards mental health unless there are
COUNSELLING THEORIES 10
some kind of blocks deterring the flow. In this therapy, the therapist employs some forms of
external stimulus to direct the patient’s attention outward. For instance, this may include eye
movements, visual stimulation or even tapping. The patient talks to the therapist about his or her
current distress or imagine how their future would be. In so doing, the therapist examines and
establishes what to focus on in the subsequent part of the process. As such, the patient is able to
learn new ways of overcoming the effects of their symptoms.
References
Asmundson, G. J. G., Thorisdottir, A. S., Roden-Foreman, J. W., Baird, S. O., Witcraft, S. M.,
Stein, A. T., … Powers, M. B. (2018). A meta-analytic review of cognitive processing
therapy for adults with posttraumatic stress disorder.FCognitive Behaviour
Therapy,F48(1), 1–14. doi: 10.1080/16506073.2018.1522371
Cook, J. M., Mccarthy, E., & Thorp, S. R. (2017). Older Adults with PTSD: Brief State of
Research and Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Case Illustration.FThe American Journal of
Geriatric Psychiatry,F25(5), 522–530. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2016.12.016
Emmerik, A. A. P. V., & Kamphuis, J. H. (2015). Writing Therapies for Post-Traumatic Stress
and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Procedures and
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Outcomes.FComprehensive Guide to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 1–9. doi:
10.1007/978-3-319-08613-2_20-1
Goldbeck, L. (2012). Trauma focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Children and
Adolescents in Germany: Psychological and Psychophysiological Outcomes of A Pilot
Study.FPsycEXTRA Dataset. doi: 10.1037/e533652013-307
Horn, P. V., & Reyes, V. (2013). Child-Parent Psychotherapy with Infants and Very Young
Children.FChild Maltreatment Evidence-Based Approaches for the Treatment of
Maltreated Children, 61–77. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-7404-9_5
Hendricks, A. (2019). Treating Complex Trauma with Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. Retrieved from
https://www.cibhs.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/fri_2_30pm_plaza_a_hendricks_tr
eating_complex_trauma_with_tf-cbt_for_ebp_symposium.pdf?1481583468
Good Therapy. (2019). Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Retrieved
from https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/trauma-focused-cognitive-
behavioral-therapy
