PTSD Treatment Decision Aid
The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid will help you learn about effective treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It will give you the facts you need to make an informed decision.
On this website, you can:
- Read about the treatments or watch videos explaining how they work.
- Build a chart to compare the treatments you think might work best for you.
- Get ideas for how to talk with your loved ones and with your medical team about your options.
What is PTSD?
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like combat, assault, or a disaster. Most people have some stress reactions after a trauma. Going through a trauma does not mean you'll get PTSD. But if the reactions disrupt your life and don't go away over time, you may have PTSD.
There are four main types of PTSD symptoms:
- Reliving the event
- Avoiding reminders of the event
- Negative changes in beliefs and feelings
- Feeling on edge or keyed up
How is PTSD treated?
There are many effective treatment options for PTSD.
But in general, people who receive an evidence-based PTSD treatment (a treatment proven to work in multiple research studies) show a noticeable improvement in their symptoms, and many no longer have PTSD.
“It feels beautiful”
Horace Ace Carter, US Army, talks about how PTSD treatment can help
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Information for Veterans
All of the treatments in this PTSD Treatment Decision Aid have been shown to work for Veterans. Go to this page for specific questions Veterans may have about PTSD treatment and the VA.
More information
