Brad Schipke breaks down four therapies for PTSD: EMDR for processing traumatic memories, Internal Family Systems for subconscious trauma, CBT for reshaping trauma beliefs, and Somatic Therapy for releasing trapped emotions. He argues the best approach combines all four to target the logical, emotional, and physical sides of trauma at once.
What is the best therapy for PTSD? Well, I'm going to give you my top 4. Number 1 is EMDR therapy. So this is really great at processing really intense memories, really intense symptoms of the trauma. Number 2 is IFS, or Internal Family Systems, and this is really great at addressing the subconscious aspects of the trauma. Number 3 is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is great at addressing the logical part, the beliefs of that were created with the trauma. Number 4 being somatic therapy, which deals with the body and the actual emotions that are pent up in the body. Now, it's very important to have a multi-pronged approach when addressing PTSD because it is not a If you just focus on changing the beliefs, you will not fully heal. You need to focus on the beliefs, the logical root, and the emotional root. Each one of those therapies that I discussed have their strengths and have their weaknesses. So it's important to have a multi-pronged approach. But the best thing you can do is actually learn how to do all of those things on your own, to actually learn the processing tools for yourself so you're not dependent on a single therapist to heal you, so you can move faster than just doing one therapy session per week, so you can actually become the expert yourself, master these tools yourself, and heal as fast as you want.
