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Dreams and exposure therapy in PTSD
Author(s) -
Rothbaum Barbara Olasov,
Mellman Thomas Alan
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1011104521887
Subject(s) - exposure therapy , distressing , psychology , context (archaeology) , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , psychiatry , anxiety , paleontology , chemistry , biology
Exposure therapy is a well‐established treatment for PTSD that requires the patient to focus on and describe the details of a traumatic experience. Nightmares that refer to or replicate traumatic experiences are prominent and distressing symptoms of PTSD and appear to exacerbate the disorder. With this apparent paradox in mind, exposure therapy and the literature on sleep and PTSD are reviewed in the context of the relationship between therapeutic exposure and exposure to traumarelated stimuli that occurs in dreams. It is concluded that nightmares that replay the trauma and disrupt sleep do not meet requirements for therapeutic exposure, whereas other dreaming may aid in the recovery from trauma.