What is PTSD & Traumatic Invalidation?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops when a person has witnessed or experienced a traumatic event or a series of traumatic events. PTSD symptoms may not develop right away; while common trauma-reactions may occur immediately, they can also appear years later when a person is under extreme stress. PTSD symptoms make it very difficult to manage daily life. Common symptoms of PTSD include: intrusive memories, avoidance behaviors, changes in thinking and emotions, changes in reactivity, and dissociation.

Traumatic invalidation (TI) can also cause typical symptoms of PTSD. TI occurs when a persons environment influences a persons core beliefs, such that they feel criticized, neglected and unimportant. TI is the process by which a persons environment intensely communicates that their traits and emotional reactions are impermissible.

Treating PTSD: DBT-PE & Prolonged Exposure

Dr. Melanie Harned, PhD. collaborated with Dr. Edna Foa to create a treatment intended to combine Dialectical Behavior Therapy coping skills and Prolonged Exposure (a frontline treatment for trauma). The treatment protocol is rooted in Prolonged Exposure, which includes the following procedures:

In vivo exposure: (confronting situations , people and places you avoid, “in real life.” )

Imaginal exposure: Repeatedly describing traumatic events out loud during your therapy sessions.

Processing: Discussing the emotions and thoughts that arise during imaginal exposure: the goal during processing is to help create new perspectives and elicit new meaning from the distressing memories.

Ultimately, the combination of these three procedures will decrease overall emotion arousal when recalling painful memories and to change trauma-induced patterns/behaviors.