Cognitive Processing Thrapy (CPT) for Trauma: Counselling & Psychotherapy

CPT was originally created to assist women who had been raped to process their trauma. It was so successful in this regard that its use has now spread to many other traumas. CPT, at its heart, is a combination of Information Processing concepts, adapted Cognitive Therapy, and exposure.

There is a large amount of literature supporting an Information Processing explanation of trauma and PTSD, including in EMDR research. Two important concepts here are assimilation, whereby information about the trauma is altered to fit ones existing belief system (schemata), and accommodation, whereby one alters one’s beliefs in order to integrate information about the trauma. Very often trauma clients will exhibit over-accommodation, completely altering their view of the world in such a way that it can often lead to them being unable to experience intimacy and trust (for example).

CPT uses an adapted Cognitive Therapy (CT) approach because Beck’s CT tends to de-emphasise the expression of emotions, whereas CPT actively encourages clients to attend to and experience their emotions. Avoidance of strong emotions is common in clients who have experienced trauma, to the point that some are able to almost completely numb their emotions. CPT elicits exposure and then assists clients to differentiate between unhelpful cognitions and accurate interpretations. Unhelpful cognitions and other stuck points are targeted for processing.

The course will be held on two days (9.45 - 17.30) and will cover all the topics of the 12+ session CPT protocol:

Introduction and education
The meaning of the event
Traumatic bereavement
Identifying thoughts and feelings
Remembering the event
Identifying stuck points
Challenging questions
Patterns of problematic thinking
Safety Issues
Trust issues
Power and control issues
Esteem issues
Intimacy issues
Revised meaning of the event

Lucia Hall. MSc

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