ABSTRACT
Sharon was referred for treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by a medical practitioner at a local women's and children's hospital. She attended 35 sessions between 11 June 2015 and 24 March 2016. Sharon reported three main concerns: recurrent, intrusive recollections of her own childhood sexual abuse, sometimes in the form of flashbacks, which appeared to have increased in frequency since becoming a mother; irritability and outbursts of anger; and extreme anxiety about being in public for fear of being physically assaulted, which led to her remaining in her small home, and contributed to her feelings of frustration and irritability. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is one of several trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapies, which are recommended first-line treatment approaches for PTSD. When Sharon refused to continue CPT, Schema Therapy was introduced as it has shown to effectively treat Borderline Personality Disorder. Sharon's conflicting cognitions, emotions, and behaviours were conceptualised according to separate schema modes.
