4 Evidence-Based Treatments for PTSD
These are the Four Most-studied and Proven-Effective Treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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If you’re reading this article, I probably don’t have to tell you what PTSD is.
But something you might not know is that there are well-established, Evidence-Based treatments for it.
At least, I didn’t know that until recently. Imagine my surprise. I guess I just thought PTSD was something you “catch” and once you’ve got it, you’ve got it.
But that’s just not true. PTSD is treatable.
The vast majority of people who experience symptoms of PTSD recover.
Some people even experience radical, positive growth in the aftermath of a traumatic experience.
In fact, there are several well-established treatments with tons of science to back them up. They’re called “Evidence-Based Treatments” and I thought I might share them with you because the word is clearly not out yet.
What is an Evidence-Based Treatment?
There are lots of ways to treat PTSD. Not all of them are equally effective. Some could have serious side effects. So, it makes sense to seek out treatments that are backed by sound scientific evidence. These treatments are known as Evidence-Based Treatments.
An evidence-based treatment is judged on three main criteria:
1. The number of scientific studies that have been conducted. One study isn’t really enough to determine whether or not a treatment works. Confidence in a given treatment grows when findings are replicated across multiple studies. This is especially true when different researchers in different settings find similar results.
2. The quality of those studies. Not all scientific studies are created equal. Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled studies are the gold standard. It also matters that the participants in the study are representative of the population by whom the treatment would be used. This is the only way to be sure that the results were caused by the treatment in question and not some other variable.
