CPT
Core Mechanism
Identifying and challenging stuck points (distorted trauma-related beliefs) restores balanced appraisals of safety, trust, power, esteem, intimacy
Ontology
Trauma disrupts pre-existing beliefs or generates distorted accommodations about self and world
Therapeutic Voice
"You wrote that the assault was your fault because you didn't fight back. Let's look at that stuck point together."
View of the Person
A meaning-making being whose traumatic accommodations distort beliefs about safety, trust, power, esteem, and intimacy
Evidence
VA/DoD 2023: Recommended (strong). APA: Strongly recommended
25+ RCTs
Multiple meta-analyses
Gold standard for PTSD. Effective across trauma types.
Conditions
Epistemology
Blind Spots
Cognitive focus may underemphasize somatic and emotional processing; structured protocol can feel rigid
Contraindications
Active psychosis, imminent suicidality, active substance dependence requiring stabilization, severe dissociation, inability to engage with written cognitive exercises
Training
CPT workshop (2 days) + consultation calls. Well-manualized. VA dissemination
Official CPT trainers; VA credentialing
16 hrs + consultation
$1K-2.5K
Equity & Cultural Adaptations
Philosophical Roots
Beck (cognitive model); Horowitz (stress response theory); Piaget (accommodation/assimilation); constructivism (meaning is actively constructed)
Related Modalities
Clinical Vignettes
See how CPT formulates these cases:
Test Yourself
What is a 'stuck point'?
Show answer
A belief about trauma keeping you stuck — often self-blame or distorted safety beliefs.