ABSTRACT
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and disabling reaction to traumatic experiences. While clinical and research efforts have been focused on PTSD, other post-traumatic psychological difficulties include depression, panic disorder, and phobias. Cognitive therapy is a successful treatment for many disorders, including PTSD. Recent clinical guidelines have recommended the use of trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy for the treatment of PTSD (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH), 2005). However, such guidelines, and the research trials on which their conclusions are based, do not cover all possible presentations of PTSD and traumatic stress reactions. Therefore clinicians are always working with some clients ‘beyond the guidelines’. In such cases clinicians need to apply skills flexibly in empirically guided clinical interventions (Salkovskis, 2002). This involves careful assessment of phenomenology, individualized formulation, and the use and further development of strategies derived from efficacious and effective treatments. This casebook is intended as a resource for clinicians in devising such interventions.
