WE LOOK AT COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Psychological Theories Podcast.In this podcast, we take a journey
into the human mind with one psychologicaltheory at a time. So let's begin,
all right, everybody, Today,we're gonna be looking at cognitive processing
therapy. It's a path to healingfrom trauma. It's a form of cognitive

(00:21):
behavioral therapy specifically design to help individualssuffering from PTSD and other trauma related conditions.
It was developed by Patricia Rezek inthe late nineteen eighties. CPT has
been widely recognized for its effectiveness inhelping individuals process and overcome the psychological impact
of traumatic experiences. At the coreof CPT is the understanding of the traumatic

(00:41):
events can fundamentally alter and individual's beliefsand perceptions about themselves others in the world.
These altered beliefs often lead to distortedthinking, such as excessive guilt,
self blame, or other or pervasivesense of danger. CPT aims to identify
and challenge these maladaptive cognitions, helpingindividuals develop a more balanced and realistic perspective.

(01:03):
I've used CPT quite often with someof my clients that have suffered childhood
trauma or current day here and nowtrauma's as well. I'm located over in
California, and you can find moreinformation about me at on Psychology Today.
You can look up doctor Carlos Vasquezon Psychology Today, doctor Carlos Vasquez.
If you want to get in contactwith me, if you're in California and

(01:25):
you're suffering through any of these traumaticexperiences, whether in childhood or currently,
you can let me know I maybewe can help you out. The therapy
typically consists of twelve sessions, eachbuilding on the last to guy the individual
through a structured process of cognitive restructuring. Patients are asked to write a detailed
account of the traumatic experience, focusingon their thoughts and feelings during and after

(01:48):
the event. This is a systematicbreakdown, is what happens here. I
also incorporate sensory motor operations, sowe're also looking to see how the body
is responding while they're thinking and feelingthese things. And this serves as a
foundation for identifying stuck points, whichare maladaptive beliefs and thoughts that can hinder
recovery. So with the same thoughtover and over again that we tend to
ruminate, we can't shake off.Throughout the therapy, patients engage in various

(02:13):
exercises designed to challenge and reframe thesestuck points. For example, they may
be asked to examine the evidence forand against their beliefs, consider alternative explanations,
and identify what we call cognitive distortions, things like overgeneralization or catastrophizing and
making something worse than it is ordichotomists thinking either or type of thinking and
also call it black and white thinkingor binary thinking. These exercises help patients

(02:38):
develop more adaptive and balanced cognitions orthoughts. One key aspect of CPT is
the emphasis on the patient's role intheir own healing process. We're here to
guide and support, but patients areencouraged to actively participate in through over recovery
by completing homework, assignments, andpracticing the skills and learn in therapy.
This, of course, will developa sense of or agency, a stage

(02:58):
of agency and self efficacy, whichis really powerful. A lot of studies
show the effectiveness of self efficacy evenmore so than self esteem. Also shows
resilience. Research has consistently shown CPTto be highly effective and reducing symptoms of
PTSD and improving overall Functioning studies havedemonstrated significant improvements in PTSD symptoms, depression,

(03:19):
and anxiety among individuals who complete it. In conclusion, this type of
therapy offers a structure and evidence basedapproach to helping individuals recover from the psychological
impact of trauma. Of course,everybody's different. Everybody has different types of
trauma, different levels of resilience capacity, different skills at their tool blocks,
different levels of support systems. Howmany people can they go to for help.

(03:43):
There's a lot of variables at play. That's it for now.