Treatment for PTSD

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) 
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD have been found to be very successful in reducing peoples' symptoms and improving their quality of life.
Some of CBT therapies  that are regularly used to treat PTSD include:
1. Exposure Therapy
2. Stress-Inoculation Training
Exposure Therapy
People with PTSD may develop fears of reminders of their traumatic event. The goal of exposure therapy is to help reduce the level of fear and anxiety connected with these reminders, thereby also reducing avoidance. This is usually done by having the client confront or be exposed to the reminders that he fears without avoiding them. This may be done by actively exposing someone to reminders (for example, showing someone a picture that reminds him of his traumatic event) or through the use of imagination.
By dealing with the fear and anxiety, the patient can learn that anxiety and fear will lessen on its own, eventually reducing the extent with which these reminders are viewed as threatening and fearful.
Stress-Inoculation Training

The basic goal of this therapy is to help the person suffering from PTSD gain confidence in his ability to cope with anxiety and fear stemming from trauma reminders. The therapist helps the patient become more aware of what things are the reminders of fear and anxiety. In addition, patients learn some of the coping skills that are useful in managing anxiety, such as muscle relaxation and deep breathing.
The therapist helps the patient learn how to detect and identify the reminders as soon as they appear so that the patient can put the newly learned coping skills into immediate action. In doing so, the patient can tackle the anxiety and stress early on before it gets out of control.

Medical or Drug Treatment

Medication is sometimes prescribed to people with PTSD to relieve secondary symptoms of depression or anxiety. No medications have been specifically designed to treat the symptoms of PTSD, although some medications commonly used to treat anxiety disorders and depression have been found to be effective in helping people manage their symptoms. Antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft are the medications most commonly used for PTSD. While antidepressants may help you feel less sad, worried, or on edge, they do not treat the causes of PTSD. Basically they just bring you to the state of mind where you are able to continue with the treatment by for example CBT. 

CBT in combination with Medications

Medications are often paired with cognitive-behavioral therapy because by using both of these the effectiveness of them is boosted. The medications are usually used to improve the physical symptoms such as hyperarousal whilst CBT is usually used to improve the psychological symptoms such as avoidance and sadness. If only medications are used, it does not cure the patient completely because he still might be suffering from some psychological problems. If only CBT is used, it might take a longer time and the symptoms of hyperarousal might never completely disappear. When are these two treatments combined, PTSD can be treated faster and in a much more effective way.