DeepSummary
The podcast features an interview with Patricia Risik, a renowned psychologist and professor emeritus at Duke University, discussing her pioneering work in developing and testing Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for treating PTSD. She shares her journey into trauma work, starting as one of the first rape crisis counselors in the 1970s when there was little understanding of trauma's impact. Risik explains how her observations of patients' experiences beyond fear and anxiety, such as shame and betrayal, led her to adapt Aaron Beck's cognitive therapy approach for PTSD.
Risik provides insights into the CPT process, highlighting the importance of identifying the patient's 'stuck points' or erroneous beliefs stemming from the traumatic event. She emphasizes the use of Socratic questioning to help patients explore alternative perspectives and change their thinking patterns, which in turn alleviates PTSD symptoms. The discussion covers common challenges in implementing CPT, such as therapist mistakes, dissociation, and addressing taboo topics like sexual abuse.
Towards the end, Risik discusses recent developments in CPT, including adapting it for faster delivery, using it in group and telehealth formats, and creating a self-help book. She also touches on the role of therapist effects and reflective function in successful therapy outcomes.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an effective treatment for PTSD, with long-lasting results and low relapse rates.
- CPT focuses on identifying and challenging distorted beliefs or 'stuck points' stemming from the traumatic event through Socratic questioning.
- Maintaining treatment fidelity and following the CPT protocol is crucial for achieving optimal outcomes.
- Therapists working with trauma patients need emotional resilience and should engage in self-care and supervision.
- CPT has evolved to include adaptations for faster delivery, group and telehealth formats, and a self-help book.
- Addressing taboo topics and common cognitive distortions, such as self-blame and dissociation, is essential in trauma therapy.
- Therapist effects, including reflective function, can significantly impact therapy outcomes.
- Risik's work has contributed to a greater understanding and recognition of trauma's impact, which was previously overlooked.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If you can't handle that stuff, you shouldn't be doing this kind of therapy, which is fine. Go work in another area of psychopathology. Don't work with, with trauma victims. There's nothing wrong with not doing trauma work, but you gotta be able to do it.“ by Patricia Risik
- “The therapy was. Has been tested with many, many randomized controlled trials. We have, you know, we have changed it over time, but we've changed it and tested it over time. And so if somebody just, like, goes off on a tangent and starts adding other things, they're not doing CPT anymore.“ by Patricia Risik
- “And they didn't understand, they literally did not understand that it was traumatic because it wasn't called traumatic.“ by Patricia Risik
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Episode Information
Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast
David Puder, M.D.
3/29/24
Learning how to approach patients with PTSD and severe trauma is necessary to help long term. Dr. Patricia Resick has plenty of experience in dealing with PTSD and is on the podcast today, sharing her wisdom so that we may better serve patients suffering from trauma.