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Official Seal of the Department of Veterans Affairs. PTSD Treatment Decision Aid.

Comparing PTSD treatment options

There are several effective PTSD treatment options. Therapy involves meeting with a clinician to learn skills that help change how you think or react to stress, typically once a week. Antidepressant medications, taken daily, help regulate natural brain chemicals that affect how you feel. No single option is right for everyone. Some people prefer to participate in a therapy, and other people prefer to take a medication. Or, some people decide to do both.

Using the Comparison Chart in 4 Steps

  • Explore: Answer questions to find the PTSD treatment that best fits your preferences
  • Compare: Select PTSD treatments to compare
  • Choose: Star preferred treatment features to help choose a treatment
  • Add: Add treatment options to your summary to print and discuss with your clinician

Are you sure you want to clear all your preferences and start over? This action cannot be undone.

Fred Gannt on what it was like to talk about the trauma in treatment:

"Going through the trauma for the first time was... I'll just use the word tough... I didn't want to keep anything in the closet that was going to haunt me later. So, I took it as though it was a broom and swept stuff out and brought it on the table. And I had to trust the expertise of this provider and this program to do what they said it was going to do. Was it difficult? Unimaginably difficult. The change, it came in session 4. And I could see I felt a diminished amount of anxiety. It was a large relief because I was like, 'This is going to work.'"

Welcome to the PTSD Treatment Decision Aid.

The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid saves the information you input for this browsing session only. Once you close the browser window, your information may be erased. Please print or save your summary.