Document Type

Honors Project

Abstract

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder that deserves quality psychotherapeutic treatment. As research on PTSD has progressed, it has become increasingly clear that the disorder is rooted in both neurological and psychological abnormalities. However, many currently available gold-standard psychotherapies target symptoms which arise from only one of these dysfunctional origins, leaving symptom profiles inadequately addressed and contributing to issues with attrition and residual symptoms. Integrative therapies, while still in the early stages of gaining empirical support, seem promising in terms of their ability to offer more complete symptom resolution than cognitive or somatic therapies alone. Another crucial aspect of PTSD psychotherapy, the therapeutic alliance, often goes inadequately discussed in research on trauma treatment approaches despite its known curative effect. Considering the role of the therapeutic alliance alongside integrative therapies’ potential to more fully address the PTSD symptom profile, it becomes clear that a holistic approach is needed to effectively treat PTSD. In this paper, a theoretical model advocating for integrative psychotherapy as best practice in PTSD treatment is introduced, followed by the proposal of a second theoretical model that centers psychotherapy within the larger context of the therapeutic alliance and offers a holistic framework for PTSD treatment approaches.

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