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Trauma does not simply exist in the memory. It exists in the way you think about yourself, other people, and the world. Following a traumatic event, the brain develops beliefs that it believed to make sense at that time – but continue to hurt long after the event has occurred. “It was my fault.” “I am not safe anywhere.” “I cannot trust anyone.” Such beliefs seem real, although they are not.
cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based and structured therapy that aims to detect these stuck beliefs, challenge them fairly, and substitute them with other beliefs that are more factual. It does not remove the trauma – it alters the brain storage of the trauma.
What Is Cognitive Processing Therapy and How Does It Work
cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a systematic type of cognitive behavioral therapy that has been designed to deal with PTSD. It is among the most common trauma treatments that is researched extensively.
CPT is proposed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a primary intervention for PTSD, and there is overwhelming evidence among military veterans, sexual assault survivors, and civilian groups of traumatized people on the use of CPT as a first or primary intervention. A typical CPT program deals with 12 sessions, but this may be adjusted depending on personal requirements.
CPT works through two main mechanisms:
- Trauma account processing – writing or telling the story of the traumatic incident to take its emotional charge out of it and bring it out of avoidance.
- Cognitive restructuring – recognizing and refuting the distorted cognitions that developed around the trauma and replacing them with more balanced and more accurate cognitions.
The Science Behind Rewiring Trauma Responses
Memories of traumas are not stored in the same way as normal memories. They are disordered, very emotional, and deeply related to the sensory stimuli. The threat-sensing system of the brain, the amygdala, continues to signal to them that they remain in unresolved danger. CPT functions by using the prefrontal cortex, which is the thinking, reasoning side of the brain, to process the memory, but not to avoid the emotional response. The more the memory is re-processed with fresh, more precise thinking attached to it, the less the reaction of the amygdala to that memory.
How Trauma Gets Stuck in Your Brain’s Processing System
The brain is in such a way that it handles the experiences and stores them as memories. Difficult experiences, most experiences, are processed, stored, and eventually de-emotionalized with time. This process is interfered with through trauma. In the situation where an event is too big, the brain is unable to undergo the usual processing cycle.
The memory becomes trapped in the mid-process, and it is left still in the emotionally unprocessed mode, as it is triggered easily. That is why the trauma survivors may experience the fact that this happened, years ago, as the nervous system may think that it never stopped.
Breaking Free From Destructive Thought Patterns
Among the most harmful consequences of trauma is its impact on the way an individual perceives themselves and the world. Such thought patterns, known as stuck points in CPT, are beliefs that were developed as a means of making sense of what occurred to them, but currently are suffering-inducing. Typical posttraumatic destructive cognitions are:
- Permanent unsafety: Feeling like danger is always present, no matter where you are.
- Global distrust: Nobody can be trusted, or everyone will hurt me in the end.
- Helplessness: I cannot do anything about what is going to happen to me.
Cognitive Restructuring: Changing How You Interpret Traumatic Events
Cognitive restructuring refers to the procedure of reviewing a belief, scrutinizing the facts about it, and constructing a more precise conclusion. It is achieved in CPT by structured worksheets that help the individual to be guided to believe in a step-by-step manner. It is not even about coercing positive thinking.
It refers to truthful, prudent analysis of the question of whether the belief itself is substantiating or not, and how the more moderate contemplation of the same situation would appear.
Identifying Stuck Points That Block Healing
A stuck point refers to a belief about the trauma or the consequences of the trauma that the individual cannot get over. Stuck points can be misleading, as they can be perceived as realities since they have been maintained for a long time and are so apparent. Common areas where stuck points occur include:
- Safety – the opinion that the world is essentially dangerous.
- Trust – the attitude of not trusting other people or thinking that they are not reliable or harmful.
- Power and control – ideas of being helpless or having to have everything in control.
- Esteem – feelings towards the self as being corrupted, useless, or guilty.
- Intimacy – the thought that it is unsafe or unfeasible to be close.
Emotional Regulation Techniques That Create Real Change
Emotional regulation is not about suppressing emotions. It is about having the ability to feel them without being overwhelmed. The feelings of trauma can seem enormous to the trauma survivor, including grief, anger, shame, and fear, and the fear of these feelings may be the motivating factor in avoidance.
CPT develops emotional regulation ability coupled with the cognitive work, therefore, in case uncomfortable emotions are experienced in the process, the individual has mechanisms to remain with them instead of closing down. Methods employed together with CPT to aid in emotional regulation are:
- Paced breathing
- Grounding exercises
- Self-compassion practices
- Journaling
Behavioral Activation and Trauma Recovery at Kentucky Wellness Center
Most of the time, trauma makes individuals retreat from activities, relations, and aims that were important to them. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that restoring functioning in everyday life is a major indicator of PTSD recovery, not only symptom reduction. CPT and behavioral activation help patients with the cognitive and functional aspects of trauma recovery.
Get in touch with Kentucky Wellness Center in order to talk to a care specialist and determine whether cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is the proper choice in your recovery.
FAQs
1. How long does cognitive processing therapy typically take to reduce PTSD symptoms?
The majority of individuals also complete CPT in 12 sessions, and they experience a significant change in their symptoms after the initial four or six sessions as they recognize stuck points and process the trauma account. CPT is time-limited and goal-oriented and not open-ended, as some patients may need further sessions, which is necessary when their trauma is complex or multiple.
2. Can cognitive restructuring help when intrusive thoughts feel too overwhelming to challenge?
Yes – CPT involves preparation work during the initial sessions to create the emotional regulation skills that are required prior to transitioning into active cognitive restructuring. The therapists take the work slowly to make it doable and not re-traumatizing to the client until they are in a window of comfort when the pace is changed.
3. Why does avoidance actually make trauma memories feel more powerful over time?
Whenever a traumatic memory is avoided, the brain strengthens the message that the memory remains dangerous and must be avoided again – maintaining the fear response in full strength instead of it subsiding due to processing. The memories are then revisited with the same or even larger magnitude since the avoidance did not allow processing of the neural handling, which would have eventually lessened their emotional impact.
4. What’s the difference between emotional regulation and simply suppressing difficult feelings?
The suppression only suppresses feelings without working through them, and in the long run makes them worse and makes a person feel numb or may suddenly explode due to the failure to suppress. Emotional regulation refers to the ability to experience and endure painful feelings without letting them dominate one; this in fact, tempers them as time goes by through honest processing.
5. How does behavioral activation at Kentucky Wellness Center reconnect trauma survivors with meaningful activities?
Behavioral activation operates on the concept of scheduling small, manageable tasks that are in accordance with personal values and interests by starting with low-demand activities and progressing to more demanding ones as the energy and confidence are restored. The behavioral activation at Kentucky Wellness Center is a part of a larger CPT treatment plan, which means that behavioral and cognitive recovery occur simultaneously and support one another in the process of recovery
