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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

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Treating PTSD with Cognitive-

Behavioral Therapies – Interventions
that Work
a
Julia Diehle
a
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Academic
Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Published online: 05 Nov 2014.

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To cite this article: Julia Diehle (2015) Treating PTSD with Cognitive-Behavioral
Therapies – Interventions that Work, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 44:1, 85-85, DOI:
10.1080/16506073.2014.973441

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 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 2015
Vol. 44, No. 1, 85, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2014.973441
BOOK REVIEW
Treating PTSD with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies – Interventions that Work. Candice M. Monson &
Philippe Shnaider. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-4338-1737-3
With this book, Monson and Shnaider aim to
provide a clinician-friendly resource about cogni-
tive- behavioral therapy (CBT) for patients with
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “to increase
the likelihood that clinicians will use these
interventions with their clients”. What fascinates
me about this book is how the authors manage to
Downloaded by [University of Waterloo] at 11:15 25 February 2015
keep the reader’s attention throughout all chapters.
They alternate within chapters between theory and
practice, providing general overviews about under-
lying theories, taking the reader through different
steps of treatment modules, and letting these
theoretical descriptions come to life by introducing
treatment aids, such as work sheets, and providing
illustrative case examples. Rather than providing a
complete overview on all that is known on CBT for
PTSD, this book gives an excellent first impression
on the topic. With only 132 pages, it is a brief,
inviting resource.
The introduction sends out a clear message: CBT
should be the first choice treatment when it comes
to patients with PTSD. The authors underpin this
statement by referring to scientific research and
widely accepted treatment guidelines. The intro-
duction finishes with a clear overview about facts
and myths about CBT for PTSD, which leaves the
reader wanting to know more about these
treatments and put them into practice as soon as
possible.
In Chapter 1, Monson and Shnaider describe
briefly the theory that underlies trauma-focused
CBT. This chapter provides basic knowledge about
PTSD and theories underlying behavioral trauma-
focused interventions and cognitive trauma-focused
interventions. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on trauma-
focused behavioral and cognitive techniques and
treatment packages. Besides descriptions of these
techniques, each chapter also contains a case
example which gives the reader an immediate
impression of how techniques are put into practice.
I find it very pleasant that Monson and Shnaider
also acknowledge that it is often not easy to apply
these therapies. They address challenges that the
therapist might face with clients and offer solutions
for how to handle difficulties. Chapters 4 and 5 are
devoted to non-trauma-focused CBT, namely
skills-focused cognitive and behavioral interven-
tions. Since non-trauma-focused CBT shows good
results for the treatment of patients with PTSD as
well and is clearly better than not providing CBT at
all, I do understand the authors’ choice. However,
in the introduction the authors declare that “in spite
of the overwhelming evidence supporting the
efficacy of trauma-focused CBT for PTSD, studies
have consistently found that clinicians underutilize
these interventions”. Thus, I would have expected
the authors to provide a strong statement in the end
that trauma-focused CBT should be first choice for
the treatment of patients with PTSD, and non-
trauma-focused CBT should be second choice.
With no such statement, in the end the message
from the introduction is not put thoroughly
through.
All in all, Monson and Shnaider accomplish their
goal of providing a clinician-friendly book on CBT
that makes readers enthusiastic about these treat-
ments and will surely make them more prone to
deliver CBT to their clients. In addition, this book is
also very suitable for non-clinicians who want to
know more about CBT (for PTSD).
Julia Diehle
Department of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, Academic Medical Centre,
Amsterdam, Netherlands
juliadiehle@gmail.com
q 2014, Julia Diehle