Recent Advances in the Psychological Treatment of PTSD

Recent advances in the psychological treatment of PTSD indicate that there are now multiple treatments available with great promise. In particular, there are dozens of randomised clinical trials examining the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural treatments (CBT) for PTSD. Impressively, these treatments appear to be successful in treating PTSD secondary to a wide variety of traumatic life events to include military combat trauma. The purpose of this course is to provide a systematic overview of the theoretical conceptualisation underlying many of the proven treatments, to describe the approaches suggested for treating PTSD, and to review the existing literature on treatment efficacy. As well, few studies to date address systematically the outcomes associated with group treatments for PTSD, internet self-help approaches, and studies of the interaction of pharmacotherapy and CBT. The course concludes with a short Q&A segment with Professor Keane.