NCJ Number
198047
Journal
Journal of Trauma Practice Volume: 1 Issue: 3/4 Dated: 2002 Pages: 155-165
Date Published
2002
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article presents a case study of the successful posttraumatic stress treatment of a survivor of the first World Trade Center bombing.
Abstract
The authors explain that while there is research indicating that exposure based techniques and cognitive applications help in the treatment of posttraumatic stress symptoms following exposure to combat or rape, no such research exists for the treatment of trauma following a terrorist incident. The case study presented in this article develops a treatment protocol for treating posttraumatic stress symptoms brought on by terrorist attacks. The treatment is based on Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which has shown success in the treatment of posttraumatic stress following rape or other criminal assaults. CPT incorporates exposure and cognitive techniques and was adapted to treat a female victim of the first World Trade Center bombing. In this case study, the female victim was treated according to the adapted CPT protocol and was followed-up 1- year later. The treatment was considered successful and the authors note that the adapted CPT allowed the victim to acknowledge how her life had been affected by the incident. However, the victim did show an increase in posttraumatic stress symptoms at the 1-year follow-up. The authors postulate that the victim’s return to the scene of the bombing at the 1-year mark led to the increase in symptoms. Tables, references