Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is more than just recalling a frightening event. PTSD can produce such intense flashbacks, nightmares, and paralysing feelings, and heightened fear and anxiety, that disrupt daily living in an individual who has it. Attempting to get on top of this alone is going to be more than one can handle, but there are some places where one can find some assistance. There are a few psychologists and mental health professionals who have been trained to deal with PTSD. Below is some information on them and what they can do!
Learning About PTSD and What It Does
PTSD is an emotional disorder following exposure to, or witnessing of, a trauma, i.e., accident, war, abuse, or catastrophe. If left untreated, PTSD plays a major role in affecting interpersonal relationships, occupational functioning, and overall quality of life, and therefore professional treatment is all the more necessary.
In trying to recover from PTSD, one needs to understand who the different professionals specialise in treating. Psychological practitioners, as pioneer psychologists and psychiatrists, help people recover from PTSD by applying advanced methods and providing information to enable care for special cases.
Clinical Psychologists and PTSD
A clinical psychologist is the first professional that most seek to consult with in trying to get help to recover from PTSD. These professionals are authorised to evaluate and treat widespread mental disorders such as PTSD. Clinical psychologists are expert practitioners of evidence-based treatments like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), which alert the patient to the symptoms and teach them to manage them.
CBT, for instance, helps the patient to unlearn adverse thoughts, whereas EMDR is helpful at the time of processing traumatic memories. With their expertise in mental illness disorders, clinical psychologists are able to completely heal patients suffering from very severe PTSD symptoms. They treat those individuals who constantly experience flashbacks or other extremely intrusive symptoms in their lives.
Counselling Psychologists and Emotional Coping
Clinical psychologists treat the medical diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. Counselling psychologists assist patients in shifting focus to interpersonal and emotional problems caused by trauma. A PTSD psychologist in Melbourne assist patients in acquiring coping mechanisms for everyday stressors, interpersonal relationships, and the emotional burden of PTSD.
Counselling psychologists will usually help an individual practice stress-reduction methods, coping, and increased self-esteem. For someone with relationship complexities to add to PTSD or learning how to re-achieve emotional balance, a counselling psychologist would normally be the best option. They are normally more concerned with emotional well-being in a patient’s daily life.
Psychiatrists and Medical Interventions
Psychiatrists are distinct from psychologists in that they are medical doctors who have the training necessary to assess the physical as opposed to the mental status of psychological disorders. What’s more, psychiatrists also have the power to prescribe medication, which is in some patients an integral aspect of treating PTSD.
For individuals with extremely severe PTSD, such as depression or sleeplessness, a psychiatrist will prescribe a medication to balance out symptoms. Medications that are prescribed are most often selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as sertraline or paroxetine, which are FDA-approved for the purpose of treating PTSD. Psychiatrists will also confer with psychologists on a regular basis when creating a comprehensive plan of treatment in the form of a combination of drug and therapy to ensure maximum success.
The Need for Expert Help
PTSD alone is enough to ruin a life, but along comes the appropriate professional. Clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, and psychiatrists each have his/her own set of tools and approaches when it comes to the matter of recovery from trauma. Cognitive restructuring, emotional therapy, or medication being the right approach, there is help.
Having the knowledge that there is help available can aid in healing. If you, or someone you know, suffers from PTSD, find a professional to walk you through healing and rebuilding.