In a paper published in the Frontiers of Psychology journal, Maiike Smits of the Netherlands and colleagues discussed the role of mentalizing â a critical developmental capacity often disrupted in trauma and personality disorders â and proposed a transdiagnostic group therapy model that addresses complex PTSD in an integrated framework.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), frequently rooted in attachment trauma, disrupts self-concept and relational functioning and often co-occurs with personality disorders. Traditional psychotherapies typically address either trauma or personality disorders, although they are often comorbid.
Exploratory and developmental approaches, such as psychodynamic therapy (PDT), have been shown to perform better in addressing comorbidities of complex traumas, particularly for marginalized groups, compared to directive, present-focused treatments such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The authors argue that there is a strong need for treatment that accounts for and addresses multiple clinical phenomena related to traumatic experiences.
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Link to the article is broken, it’s at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1426092/full
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Wow! I think this therapy can be revolutionary. It is so well thought out and highly detailed. It seems that Europe is ahead of the US considering that CPTSD is not even in the DSM here. This therapy focuses on the individual but also focuses on interpersonal experiences and relationships within a group setting that I think is so vital for healing. It gets to the heart of the matter for people who have complex ptsd. I deeply appreciate everyone involved in this type of therapy. It takes courage and commitment on both sides. Thanks for posting this article and I hope this therapy becomes popular and worldwide.
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I wanted to comment further. Even though I think this therapy can be so helpful, it’s still best not to use psychiatric diagnoses with patients or clients. They need to be used for the insurance companies in order to get reimbursed but that should be it. There is no need to take it seriously otherwise and tell patients or clients these diagnoses. However, I don’t think this will ever change because psychiatrists want to be seen as true medical doctors and many people want a diagnosis because it will justify their behaviors and they hope to be seen as medically ill rather than weak in character or personality. They hope to be less judged that way.
Also, in this form of therapy people might feel compelled to pretend to get emotional when they might not feel connected to their memories emotionally just to please everyone so this needs to be kept in mind at all times. I went to Primal Therapy many years ago and I remember people feeling pressured to emote a certain way at a certain time when they were talking about their past traumatic experiences. Our emotions often come up naturally but not always so that has to be kept in mind.
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This sounds awful. Probably great for control-freak therapists, but there’s no eliminating that thorny thing called “group dynamics”.
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Anyone who runs a group is trained in “group dynamics”.
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So-called “therapists are “trained” in group dynamics. Need I say more?
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I don’t know. There is often lots of support in group therapy. Some therapists can become too controlling but not the ones I had in group therapy. There were rules which I agree with and there was an overall plan of action in helping people. Therapy and medications is a mixed bag. There are pros and cons to just about everything. IMO
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I agree there are pros and cons to everything, but I’ve seen what can happen in group therapy; people with big personalities end up dominating the space. Not good if you happen to be on the shy side. Probably good for people who don’t mind showing off, though.
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Yes. I understand but in this therapy people take turns talking about a specific traumatic event and people listen. There is feedback later on. I don’t know if you read the article but the people who created this therapy seems to have thought everything through.
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I did read the article. My gripe is that it sounds very scripted.
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I see your point.
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That’s one way of defining a poorly run group.
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