How to treat PTSD: CBT can help says PsychologyOnline's Sarah Bateup

How to treat PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was an unexpected part of a live BBC radio discussion featuring PsychologyOnline’s clinical lead Sarah Bateup.

Appearing alongside author Nigel Cooper in BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s Chat Room feature, Sarah discussed how cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for PTSD, a form of anxiety that can trigger nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, guilt and feelings of isolation and/or anger.

In Mr Cooper’s new book Sophia, the lead character (Sophia) uses CBT to help recover from a traumatic event. CBT helps to break down negative cycles of thought and gives patients strategies and tools to deal with the situations that cause them distress.

Sarah commented: “When someone has experienced a significant trauma, it’s not unusual that you have some emotional distress. We have an animalistic instinct to hide ourselves away when we’re unwell, physically or mentally… when someone is unwell for a long period of time, this normal reaction becomes abnormal, and that’s where therapy can help.

“When we’re emotionally distressed, we often move away from the things that are important. It’s a normal knee-jerk reaction… if someone is suffering from depression or anxiety they tend to avoid things and move away from loving relationships, their hobbies or a working life they cherish.

“That comes back to bite you, because the things that we love are the things that make us feel happy and fulfilled.”

Other topics tackled in the Chat Room included the creative mind, and whether artistic or musical people are more prone to mental health conditions than analytical or scientifically minded-individuals.

Sarah added: “Our human minds can be quite creative. We can write great books, be great musicians and do great things. It’s hypothetical, but maybe if you don’t use a gifted, creative mind and put it to good use, it gets up to tricks. Our minds can create our own suffering and create distress in ourselves and other people too.

“What sets us apart as human beings is that we have a thinking mind that can zoom off into the future or look back on the past and reflect on it. Animals tend to live in the present, this moment.”

Sarah uses her experience as a BABCP therapist with more than 27,000 hours of CBT to oversee clinical governance at PsychologyOnline. She is passionate about the role technology can play in increasing access to psychological therapy and an advocate of PsychologyOnline’s unique text-based approach.

You can hear Sarah’s radio appearance until 29 January via BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s listen again service; scroll the timeline about two hours into the programme. For more information on PsychologyOnline, please visit our website.