Cognitive Processing Therapy is a specific type of therapy developed to treat the symptoms of trauma and PTSD. CPT helps by teaching you a new way of handling the distressing thoughts and feelings brought up by the trauma. In CPT you will learn skills to help you understand why recovery from traumatic events has been hard for you, and explicitly learn skills to help you get unstuck. CPT helps you learn how going through a traumatic event can change the way you look at the world, yourself, and others. This is important because the way we think about things directly affects how we feel and act. In our CPT program, you, other group members, and your psychologist will work together to help you learn a new way of dealing with your trauma. Our CPT treatment program also includes a comprehensive pre-assessment, which allows your individual needs to be met.
Our CPT groups run for 12 weeks and aim to:
- Advance your understanding of PTSD and how it affects your life
- Reduce your distress and anxiety surrounding the trauma
- Teach you to identify and challenge unhelpful and negative thoughts surrounding blame, safety, trust, power, esteem, and intimacy
- Reduce feelings of being tense, “on edge”, or on the look-out
- Decrease your experience of depression, anxiety, guilt/shame, or anger
- Improve sleep, concentration, esteem, and day-to-day living
Sessions are 90 minutes long and groups have approximately 6-10 members. The groups are held at our city, southern, and northern locations.
People who have experienced trauma and who have developed anxiety/PTSD symptoms are eligible for the PsychMed CPT Group Program. Group members must be 17 years and older.
PsychMed offers male and female trauma-focused groups for:
- Female and male adult survivors of sexual abuse
- Female and male adult survivors of child sexual abuse
- Domestic violence survivors
- Survivors of crime
- Survivors of physical or criminal assault
- Survivors of war trauma, torture, natural disasters and cults
- Survivors of accidents and motor vehicle accidents
If you would like to refer yourself, or a client, you can contact PsychMed directly on 8232 2424 or 8326 6600. You will speak to a receptionist who will take down relevant information. Following this, you will be contacted by one of our psychologists to assess eligibility.
You may also contact APHN’s central referral number on 1300 580 249.
For GPs and mental health professionals, there is an intake form available, which assists the assessment of risk and eligibility. Healthcare professionals may also wish to include other measures that we use in the program if available, including the Beck Depression Inventory II and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL5).
What will be expected of me?
In our CPT program, you, other group members, and your psychologist will work together to help you learn a new way of dealing with your trauma(s). You will be asked to complete practice assignments that focus on the connection between your thoughts and feelings, as well as identifying patterns of thinking that might be keeping you stuck.
Does CPT work if I have multiple traumas?
Yes! CPT has been tested with many individuals who have experienced multiple childhood and adult traumas. In many cases individuals have had a significant reduction in their PTSD symptoms; in other cases, after completing CPT, some individuals no longer met criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD.
Will I be able to handle doing CPT?
When starting trauma-focused treatment many individuals worry about their ability to ‘confront’ their traumas. However, many individuals who have this concern have successfully completed CPT and report improvements in their daily lives. You may want to discuss these concerns with your therapist or GP.
Who does CPT work best for?
CPT has worked for individuals with a wide variety of traumas. It has been shown to be effective for: survivors of adult and childhood sexual, emotional, or physical abuse, domestic violence survivors, survivors of crime and/or physical or criminal assault, survivors of war trauma, torture, natural disasters and cults and survivors of accidents and motor vehicle accidents.