Definition Claim:

The VA tends to favor cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy—whereby traumatic events are hashed out and rehashed until they become, theoretically, less consuming. 

• Tells us what cognitive-behvaioral and exposure therapy is, and why the VA tends to favor them.

Evaluative Claim:

The VA also endorses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which is based on the theory that memories of traumatic events are, in effect, improperly stored, and tries to refile them by discussing those memories while providing visual or auditory stimulus.

• This is an evaluative claim since it breaks down the theory around memories of traumatic events. It explains why the VA endorses that type of therapy. 

The VA also endorses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which is based on the theory that memories of traumatic events are, in effect, improperly stored, and tries to refile them by discussing those memories while providing visual or auditory stimulus.

• This is also an evaluative claim since it describes a theory around PTSD, and tries to explain the “why” to this mental disorder. It also explains why the VA endorses these types of therapy. 

Ethical/Moral Claim:

The amount of progress in Caleb’s six years of therapy has been frustrating for everyone.

• Everyone is being affected by Caleb’s lack of progress. This is insinuating that whatever type of therapy Caleb has been getting hasn’t been working at all. 

“There’s a fairly strong consensus around CBT and EMDR,” Brunet says. While veterans are waiting for those to work, they’re often prescribed complicated antidepressant-based pharmacological cocktails.

• Places the blame on pharmaceuticals, and makes a claim that they are harmful and don’t work. 

Quantitative/Numerical Claim:

Currently, the agency is funding 130 PTSD-related studies, from testing whether hypertension drugs might help to examining the effectiveness of meditation therapy, or providing veterans with trauma-sensitive service dogs, like Caleb’s.

• Gives a number to how many PTSD related studies they are conducting. 

Up until 2006, the VA was spending $9.9 million, just 2.5 percent of its medical and prosthetic research budget, on PTSD studies. In 2009, funding was upped to $24.5 million.

• Gives us a clear amount of money they spent in a given year. 

Casual Claim:

“we have reason to be reasonably optimistic. Psychotherapy does work for typical PTSD.”

• Gives a solution of typical PTSD. Tells that you can be fairly confident since psychotherapy works “typically”.