But counseling alone may not be enough. Deep-seated dysfunction can require intensive psychological work to achieve recovery. The conventional treatment for PTSD is exposure therapy. In closely supervised sessions, patients confront the trauma until they learn to desensitize their reaction to the disabling memories. While exposure therapy is effective, it can be a lengthy process.
Some victims suffer through years of sessions without lasting relief.
Recent clinical studies support the controversial treatment's efficacy, and this year for the first time the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies includes EMDR in their professional guidelines. EMDR involves an eight-phase protocol including client history, relaxation training, desensitization, and cognitive restructuring. Patients focus on the most disturbing element of the event, as well as their negative beliefs and feelings about the trauma, while following the therapist's rapidly moving fingers with their eyes. This process is repeated in sets ranging from 10 seconds to a minute. Sessions are 60-90 minutes long.