Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for PTSD

Brief eclectic psychotherapy for PTSD (BEPP), developed since the 1980s, has proven to be an efficacious psychotherapy for patients with PTSD. Several randomized controlled trials have shown that its effects on PTSD and depressive symptoms are similar to those of other trauma-focused treatments. What makes BEPP special is that it integrated and adapted interventions from several therapeutic schools to not only diminish core symptoms of PTSD but also learn from the trauma and develop a new perspective on relationships with others and the future. In contrast to other trauma-focused treatments, BEPP focuses on the expression of strong emotions like grief and anger which stem from the traumatic event and on learning from the way the event has affected someone’s life. Some trauma-focused treatments disregard that the losses a trauma involves bring forth a lasting change and therefore seem to give the message that the patient will be the same as before the trauma, whereas the message in BEPP is that one becomes “sadder and wiser” and finds a new equilibrium with the surrounding world. BEPP is structured and delivered in 16 sessions.