Avoiding Treatment Failures in PTSD

Abstract

The various challenges that clinicians face when implementing CBT for PTSD may contribute to reluctance to use CBT, particularly with complicated cases, which may be more prone to treatment failure. Our aim in this chapter is to provide guidance to clinicians who wish to implement CBT with the range of PTSD patients they encounter in clinical practice. Successful treatment often depends on the clinician's ability to integrate knowledge of empirical findings with analysis of the individual case to meet the unique challenges that patients present. We will (1) review the core components of CBT, (2) consider challenges clinicians may face when implementing CBT, including available data on risk factors for poor outcome, (3) explain how to use a case formulation approach to guide treatment with complicated cases to optimize treatment results, and (4) discuss several key strategies and tools for troubleshooting when treatment derails from the intended plan. [Text, p. 148]