Understanding How Trauma Can Change the Way You See Yourself and the World

After a traumatic experience, it is common for your thoughts and beliefs about yourself, other people, or the world to change.

You may find yourself thinking:

“I should have done something differently.”

“I can't trust anyone.”

“I'm not safe anymore.”

“I should have known this would happen.”

These thoughts can contribute to guilt, shame, anger, anxiety, avoidance, or feeling stuck in the past.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based, trauma-focused therapy specifically designed to help people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). CPT helps you understand how trauma has affected your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and learn healthier ways of responding.

What Can CPT Help With?

CPT is specifically designed to treat PTSD and may be helpful when trauma has contributed to:

• Intrusive memories and distressing thoughts

• Avoidance of people, places, or situations

• Feeling constantly “on edge” or unsafe

• Guilt, shame, or self-blame

• Anger and irritability

• Anxiety or depression

• Difficulty trusting others

• Relationship difficulties

• Emotional numbness or feeling disconnected

• Difficulty moving forward after a traumatic experience

CPT may be particularly appropriate when you find yourself stuck in the meaning of what happened or struggling with thoughts about what you should have done, what the experience says about you, or whether the world is safe.

Goals of CPT

The goals of CPT are to help you:

• Better understand your PTSD symptoms and trauma responses

• Identify thoughts and beliefs that may be keeping you stuck

• Reduce guilt, shame, fear, and self-blame

• Decrease avoidance and emotional distress

• Develop more balanced and realistic perspectives

• Improve your sense of safety, trust, and control

• Reduce the impact of trauma on your relationships and daily life

• Move forward without the trauma continuing to define your present

What Happens in CPT?

CPT is a structured therapy that focuses on the relationship between your experiences, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Together, you and your therapist will identify patterns of thinking that may have developed or changed following trauma. You will learn to examine these thoughts and consider whether they are accurate, helpful, or still serving you today.

CPT often includes structured exercises and practice between sessions so that the skills you develop in therapy can become part of your everyday life.

Treatment typically follows a structured course of approximately 12 sessions, although your individual treatment plan may vary based on your needs and circumstances.

Is CPT Right for You?

CPT may be a good fit if you are experiencing PTSD symptoms and feel that guilt, shame, self-blame, anger, fear, or beliefs about safety and trust are keeping you stuck.

It can be particularly helpful when you want a structured, skills-based approach to understanding and working through the effects of trauma.

At Blue Wave Counseling, CPT is tailored to your individual experiences and goals. We will work together to determine whether CPT—or another trauma-focused approach such as EMDR—best fits your needs.

What Does the Research Say?

Cognitive Processing Therapy is one of the most extensively researched treatments for PTSD. The 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD recommends CPT, along with EMDR and Prolonged Exposure, as individual trauma-focused psychotherapies for PTSD. Research has consistently demonstrated that CPT can reduce PTSD symptoms and improve functioning for many individuals. (ptsd.va.gov)

CPT has been studied extensively with veterans, military personnel, survivors of interpersonal violence, and people who have experienced a wide range of traumatic events.

You can't change what happened. But you can change the way you understand it—and how much power it has over your life today.

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation to learn whether CPT may be right for you.