After the London bombings on 7 July 2005, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) was provided for survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A “screen and treat” approach was used. The transcripts of 18 audiotaped CBT treatment sessions with these patients were analyzed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Interviews comprised participants’ direct experiences of the terrorist attack and its impact on their lives. Themes identified were shock and disorientation, horror, getting out, reorientation and reconnecting with the outside world (on the day of the bombings); and posttraumatic stress and depression, feeling different, and recovery and resilience (following the day of the bombings). Services may be part of wider political responses to terrorism but this did not preoccupy participants. In CBT, during elaboration of traumatic memories, attention might usefully be paid to clients’ experiences of collective action taken during a terrorist attack.
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