As someone who has been diagnosed with PTSD, I'm curious as to how common this "exposure therapy" is, and how accepted it is amongst mental health professionals. I cannot imagine being exposed to the situation/triggers that caused me PTSD as therapy. It seems a sure way to make me...well...lose my $hit.
Iknow that in some cases of phobias, exposure is used to help the person (like fear of flying, bridges, etc). But these phobias are not as debilitating as PTSD can be, and those exposures are, from the instances I know of, undertaken with a qualified therapist of some kind there to help the patient through.
Taking a person with PTSD due to war conditions to a shooting range, to expose them to triggers like this, with seemingly no therapist along to help, and putting a dangerous weapon in the patient's hands...well...it sounds like the height of folly. It also reminds me of how some of the mass school shooters (Eric Harris, Adam Lanza) were given gun training by their parents, taken to the range, etc, as some sort of hobby or bonding experience. IMO, shooting ranges, guns-as-hobby are a huge mistake for anyone having mental/personality/emotional difficulties. In fact, I don't think it's a healthy hobby for anyone, mental health problems or no. It focuses on violence and power, rather than anything positive, IMO.
And yes, the gun culture is also a factor here as well. How anyone can view shooting as a type of therapy for anything is quite beyond me.
