Your GP may find these documents useful. NICE PTSD Docs
(NICE - National Institute for Clinical Excellence)
Do be aware however, that by going through your GP you may end up with a note about Mental Health on your medical record, and this may affect your applications for things like insurance, or Military work in the future.
This may not necessarily happen through a private therapist or counsellor. If this fact is important to you then discuss it with the professionals concerned.
If you have received a PTSD diagnosis, and if you have decided to seek therapy or counselling then the first issue is deciding what form of therapy or counselling is right for you. It may take a few meetings with different practitioners before finding one that suits you.
For starters, lets get the practitioners terms right.
What's the difference between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist?
No, not the first line of a joke, but here is a VERY simple definition.
Psychiatrist - Medically trained Doctors specialising in Mental Disorders.
Psychologist - Anyone who has obtained a Psychology degree.
Definitions from SimplePsych. What type of help do I need?
Also, good info at the BBC
Treatments available
The types of therapy available fall into to distinct camps.
Accepted medical practice for PTSD is referral for Cognitive Therapy, quite possibly CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and/or EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).
Cognitive Therapy (CT) is a type of psychotherapy developed by psycho-analytically trained American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck and was first expounded by Beck in the 1960s.
CBT and it's cousins (EMDR) seek to re-programme certain aspects of thinking patterns.
"if you get rid of the symptoms, you get rid of the neurosis" - Karl Popper
Less accepted but widely regarded to be the most effective tho taking longer is PCT (Personal Centered Therapy)
PCT is a form of talk-psychotherapy developed by psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s. - Wikipedia
In the UK the NHS favours CBT based therapies tho there is talk of them providing funding for Person Centred Therapy.
"CBT, its like taking your car to a garage with a punctured tyre, the mechanic says yes we can repair this but the customer says - No, I want to know how it got the puncture" - a SAMM Member
Here is an interesting document from the Strathclyde University about that topic.
There is much discussion about which is the best form of therapy, but to be honest, finding a Therapist that you 'click' with is essential to a good Client/Therapist relationship no matter what their training is.
No matter which therapy you decide to start, you should realise it will at first be awkward, and then maybe difficult as one access memories. Inform a close friend or family member of what you are doing so at least one other person knows.
If the overall benefits are not noticeable as time progresses, then don't be afraid to say that maybe that's just not the right kind of therapy for you.
After 18 months or so of waiting, it is only with my own research that I am now able to understand what it is that is wrong with me. Hopefully who ever I see in early ****, I am able to discuss my findings with them rather than they shuffle me about into the wrong direction!??
This time I will not be hurried, by-passed or told to "get on with it"! There is treatment out there for PTSD-and after all this time I would like to know why I have not been offered it! If i am wrong in the results of my research I stand corrected!! However with all my research over the last few years I have no doubt that the vast majority of us must be suffering from PTSD! Why do we have to suffer more becaudse the relevant help is not available?? - A SAMM member.
