Published April 18th, 2024

4 min read

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is an effective form of talk therapy for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions brought on by trauma.

Written by Simon Spichak

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a form of cognitive behavioural therapy that helps people overcome feelings of shame, numbness, and guilt in post-traumatic stress disorder. The trauma could be caused by accidents, abuse, natural disasters, and domestic violence. CPT works by helping challenge and change your thoughts and beliefs to treat these symptoms.

What conditions does cognitive processing therapy treat?

CPT is an effective form of talk therapy for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other conditions like dissociation, anxiety, and depression that are brought on by trauma.

How does cognitive processing therapy work?

A traumatic event can alter how you or someone you love views the world. As someone tries to make sense of this trauma, it can lead to negative thoughts and feelings about the self, others, and the world at large.

Before starting CPT, you and your therapist will sit down and set realistic goals for your time in therapy. Then, throughout 12 sessions, CPT teaches you new skills that you can use to challenge these thoughts and beliefs, helping you recover from the trauma.

What key areas does cognitive processing therapy target?

CPT targets five key areas of life that are affected by trauma:

Safety
Trust
Control
Confidence
Intimacy and relationships

What are the techniques used in cognitive processing therapy?

CPT is split up into three different stages across the 12 sessions. Each stage incorporates various techniques to improve your well-being.

Psychoeducation

The first step involves teaching you about PTSD, emotions, and thoughts. This can help you learn about intrusive or automatic thoughts that might be harmful and contribute to the other symptoms of PTSD.

As part of this stage, you will write an impact statement describing why the traumatic event happened to you and use that as a starting point to understand how it has shaped your current thoughts, beliefs, and emotions.

Changing Beliefs

Next, you will write more about your feelings and thoughts surrounding the traumatic event. Reading the statement helps break the pattern of avoiding the trauma.

The therapist can help you spot and question inaccurate or unhelpful beliefs associated with the trauma. Eventually, you will gain the skills to question any thoughts or beliefs that might pop up in your mind.

Skills Education

The final step is learning new skills to apply them in the real world. You will also receive some worksheets from your therapist to teach you how to use new skills to help you regulate your emotions and address unhelpful thoughts.

What are the benefits of cognitive processing therapy?

CPT can provide many benefits, including:

Improving confidence
Reducing your feelings of guilt or blame
Improve your ability to regulate and process emotions
Improve your tolerance of negative emotions
Become more trustful
Challenge negative thoughts and beliefs
Regain a sense of control in life and reduce feelings of hopelessness
Improving your ability to build relationships with friends, loved ones, and romantic partners

Takeaways

CPT is an effective form of talk therapy that can help you learn to overcome PTSD or other mental health problems like anxiety or depression caused by trauma. This form of therapy can help you learn to change negative thoughts and beliefs while learning new skills to help you overcome the effects of the trauma.

If you’re interested in finding a therapist to help you with your symptoms, Resolvve offers free consultations and low-cost therapy sessions.

Please note that this post is written for educational purposes; it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional, please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.

What is Cognitive Processing Therapy?