Psychoeducation as an integrative part of therapy with clients who suffer from PTSD
Evidence suggests that even basic information about trauma related symptoms and issues can help traumatised people to understand their traumatic experiences and to make sense of their symptoms. How the clients react to the intrusions depends on how they view the nature of these symptoms.
This lecture defines psychoeducation and explains the use of techniques in clarifying and reframing that can assist clients to correct their misconceptions about trauma symptoms and disorders. It is important for clients to understand that people who suffer PTSD often re-experience the traumatic events through intrusive thoughts and ideation, through dreams as traumatic nightmares, and sometimes even through flashbacks.
Clarifying issues concerning re-enactments as intrusions on the behavioural level can be extremely important. The basic goal of psychoeducation is to help clients to recognise and understand these forms of intrusions, as many traumatised people are not aware that they may put themselves at risk while re-enacting traumatic scenes.
psychoeducation can help the client to view repetition compulsion of intrusions as a step in the healing process and an attempt to master the traumatic events. When the clients are free from various fears associated with these symptoms, knowing that intrusions are a part of the healing process, they can allow themselves to experience them with a minimum amount of discomfort, and sometimes even watch them with curiosity.
