I have put my opinion upon this at the end. Please read this first, then read my comments.
Now... see that bold piece I just highlighted at the end of this press release, that says to me, "conflict of interest!" You are now confusing what is best for a patient vs. what is best to help increase Dr Boscarino's bottom line worth for Geisinger Health Systems. That is exactly what I am pulling from this in regard to confliction of interest.

I have no doubt this doctor is a great doctor, and looking to help better serve those with PTSD, but to me, it is not his greatest concern, but more about self publicity. People say to me, "so I suppose you don't watch war movies?" Now why would they say that? Because they presume that because my trauma stems from a war zone, then I wouldn't watch those type of movies. Well... when I first watched a few war movies, I did get triggers that reacted my symptoms again. Ok, no problems, as I identified a trigger. Then I told myself, "hang on a minute, this is just a movie, regardless how close the actual events of war are to one another, this is just a movie, and I am actually not physically within that environment any longer!"

This was actually positive healing for myself, unlike what this doctor is trying to make this movie out to be above, being negative affects. I have no doubt at all that people who have a close relationship or trauma from the 9/11 disaster, will be triggered by watching this movie. But then you can sit down and say, "well, I just refuse to face my fears and trauma" or "I'm going to watch this movie and get triggered, I most likely will cry, I could break down." So be it... at the end of the day, it is most likely what your body needs, and is more likely telling you it needs it, but you are too busy fighting it constantly, too not succumb to healing, instead suppression, fighting your emotions, fighting your brain. If you followed the advice of this doctor above, then you may as well go bury your head in the sand and ignore life all together and remain in denial about your issues, because your never going to get better if you don't push yourself, and you don't face your fears and trauma head on.

This doctor has really stepped outside his scope of reasoning IMHO, with little actual concept to what is best for those with PTSD vs. his medical viewpoint on what is best, based on theory of reading and theory from patients. He does not have PTSD, thus he cannot comprehend what is actually best for a PTSD mind at any given point.

I would go as far to say, that I am definately 100% suggesting the opposite to what he is saying. Go see the movie and brace yourself... face your fears, prepare yourself mentally and face your trauma, relive the experience through the movie, because hell... we with PTSD do a good enough job already, so why not just add fuel to the fire, especially when that fuel is positive to help you heal??? Remember, it is just a movie, it isn't real, and that is part of the mental preparation, and ongoing self talk after watching it. You must relate what is real, what is not, what is facing your fears, what is not... or you can just bury your head in the sand, and you may as well rollover and die whilst your at it!!!

I totally agree with Anthony and support his view point!
I believe what Anthony is referring to is called 'flooding'. Flooding the autonomic nervous system, which is where the sympathetic nervous system is located (fight/flight) in a safe environment to educate the parasympathetic nrevous system, which( promotes calming of the nerves return to regular function, and enhances digestion), to return to normal functioning. In order for our bodies to go back into having a normal response in a non threatening situation

I have used a post I posted from a thread, to show my example:

Learning
I went to the cinema a couple of weeks ago and watched 'Cloverfield' OMG!!! Not the best film for someone with my disposition but I watched it from the start to the finish even though every neuron in my body was yelling at me to get the hell out of there - that is when I had an epiphany - my anxiety is triggered by random stimulus which has made it so difficult to understand why and what the hell was actually triggering it!
The fear that I experienced whilst watching the film due to the loud noises, screaming etc, induced so much fear - which is the premise of most scary films - was the trigger - the FEAR OF FEAR itself - my body reacts as if there is an immediate danger that I need to fight or flight from so to sit through it and show my internal workings that I have survived, is something I feel is important! WOW! - I felt elated by that experience even though my legs had turned to jelly and my breathing was all over the place etc etc.

I have mixed feelings about this. To me, it is a matter of the appropriate time.
I remember a couple of movies that triggered me in the old days.
One was "Brubaker" with Robert Redford. In the beginning of the movie, one of the inmates was a black man, who was stripped from the waste up, then tied to some prison bars, then prison guards beat the shit out of him with a leather strap.
In another movie, the original "Walking Tall", either part 1 or part 2, I don't remember, I think it was part 1. A prostitute was stripped totally naked and laid out on a bed while they beat her with a strap. My dad did this to me, and this was definitely a trigger. I did not get up to leave, and watched it through, but it was horrible. I knew how that girl felt, and I felt sick for her.
I only have mixed feelings because in my case I don't think it was particularly helpfull, therapeutic or anything, in my case, at that particular time. I don't think it helped with any healing, and just made me feel horrible.
I have written a lot about what I experienced in 2004, and how I believe PTSD is curable.
During the summer of 2004, I was kind of curious about what I was now like. My wife and I went and watched "Passion of the Christ". He was severely flogged for half the damn movie. It did not trigger any kind of "horror" or any of the old feelings. I even told my wife, it wasn't a realistic depiction of a person getting beaten to death.
But I do believe, at that time, there was something therapeutic about facing this scenario.

Irs,

IMHO you are absolutley right there is an optimium time; when we are ready to heal and no longer live in denial. All this stuff is about individual differences. We instinctively know when to push ourselves. I guess the key is to try not to avoid these situations otherwise our fear becomes acute, and more finely tuned until we have to avoid the smallest apsect that reminds us of a trigger to our trigger(s).

Spirit x

That's not Irs, it's Lrs actually. Here in the US, most of us dont' particularly care for anything that is abbreviated IRS. (smiley face)

LRS,

Ha ha! Although if I do ever respond to you in the future you will always be affectionately known as IRS, ha ha! What A great typo.

Spirit x

really interesting- thanks