Three Cognitive-Behavioural Protocols for Treating Adult PTSD

This online CPD programme equips psychologists and psychotherapists with hands-on command of the three CBT protocols with the strongest evidence base for adult post-traumatic stress disorder: Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Cognitive Therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD). All three are first-line recommendations of the APA, NICE and the WHO; they grow from shared roots yet rely on different theoretical models — and commanding all three means you can fit the protocol to the patient rather than the reverse.

The programme opens with the fundamentals: trauma neurobiology, PTSD and Complex PTSD as defined in DSM-5-TR and ICD-11, and standardized assessment with validated instruments (PCL-5, CAPS-5, ITQ). It then moves to concrete, session-by-session delivery: constructing the in vivo exposure hierarchy, running imaginal exposure and working on hot spots, restructuring stuck points, and revising the appraisals that keep the trauma active. Along the way you will learn to weigh indications and contraindications, deal with dissociation and comorbidity, work safely with Complex PTSD, and negotiate the obstacles that inevitably appear in real-world practice.

Built for clinicians who want more than theory: each module couples clear conceptual grounding with precise instructions, therapeutic stances and ready-to-use wordings you can apply in your very next session.

Learning objectives

• State the current DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 criteria for PTSD and Complex PTSD.
• Assess trauma with validated instruments and set out clear treatment indications.
• Deliver PE, CPT and CT-PTSD step by step in everyday clinical work.
• Choose the protocol best suited to each patient’s presentation.
• Prepare patients, strengthen the alliance and manage the most frequent obstacles.

Entirely online, asynchronous and self-paced — study at your own rhythm, wherever you practise.