“Jocelyn” Story
“Jocelyn” survived almost two decades of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse from her husband. Then she was sexually assaulted by her employer. Jocelyn was agitated and anxious even approaching daily tasks and lacked confidence and self-esteem. Finally, she sought therapy. Jocelyn’s therapist listened to her story and completed an evaluation that revealed she was experiencing severe symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her therapist was trained by the Gavin Farrell Foundation in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a first-line, evidence-based treatment for PTSD that is designed to teach clients how to identify and challenge unhelpful and unrealistic beliefs about the trauma.
CPT taught Jocelyn to challenge her thoughts that she was responsible for the abuse and sexual assault. Jocelyn worried about safety constantly, even in safe circumstances. Through CPT, Joycelyn learned skills to challenge her thinking. About halfway through treatment, Jocelyn was stalked by an employee of her apartment complex, activating acute distress and necessitating hospitalization. For Jocelyn, the hospitalization experience helped her stabilize to become more self-aware, and she was quickly ready to start back up with CPT. Jocelyn completed 12 sessions of treatment. As she reflected on her life, she noted an increase in confidence and sense of empowerment. She reported that therapy has helped her love herself again, set and pursue goals, and not let her past define or control her. After CPT, Jocelyn has been able to save enough money to live in a motel and own a car. She’s pursuing a relationship with her children and has goals to further her education. She aspires to help others through telling her story through a podcast or another medium. Regardless of the stress in her life, Jocelyn is now able to push through it, identify what she can and can’t control, and move forward.