Negligent not to offer a trauma-focused psychological treatment

Negligent not to offer a trauma-focused psychological treatment

Imaginal prolonged exposure is a powerful process for both therapist and client. It results both in reduced distress and in greater understanding of what happened and why. “Putting the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together” is crucial to recovery and has long been recognised as an effective treatment. Early variations on prolonged exposure (such as…

Active prefrontal brain function appears to protect against PTSD after child abuse

Active prefrontal brain function appears to protect against PTSD after child abuse

Active prefrontal brain function appears to protect against PTSD after child abuse http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-04-prefrontal-brain-function-ptsd-child.html Shared from Google News & Weather Increased activation of the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that regulates complex cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning, appears to protect against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals who suffered abuse as a child, says…

7,600 NZ Men Returned From WW2 with Diagnosed PTSD

7,600 NZ Men Returned From WW2 with Diagnosed PTSD

Even those who remained married after their husbands returned from war found there were changes to absorb. Other families endured long-term consequences of the conflict. Of the men who came home, 15,000 returned with physical injuries. And there were also those less visibly damaged. In the 1940s the term used to describe psychological and psychiatric…

Health risks linger long after acute psychological trauma ends

Health risks linger long after acute psychological trauma ends

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/12/children-and-ptsd-health-risks-lurk-long-after-psychological-trauma.html Researchers have long concluded that exposure to trauma can result in severe mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD. Furthermore, mental health experts have concluded that individuals who have experienced trauma during their childhood — including physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect, natural disasters or divorce — are more…

Virtual reality exposure therapy to treat trauma-related PTSD

Virtual reality exposure therapy to treat trauma-related PTSD

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-virtual-reality-exposure-therapy-military.html Clinical researchers in Emory’s Veterans Program will study the use of virtual reality exposure therapy to treat people suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to military sexual trauma. The virtual reality exposure therapy system, called BRAVEMIND, has been used to treat combat-related PTSD in veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan with positive results. The…

The symptoms of PTSD

The symptoms of PTSD

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg26/chapter/1-Guidance#the-treatment-of-ptsd The most characteristic symptoms of PTSD are re-experiencing symptoms. PTSD sufferers involuntarily re-experience aspects of the traumatic event in a very vivid and distressing way. This includes flashbacks where the person acts or feels as if the event was recurring; nightmares; and repetitive and distressing intrusive images or other sensory impressions from the event….

PTSD: Debriefing can do more harm than good

PTSD: Debriefing can do more harm than good

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/23/seven-ways-to-deal-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd People with mild symptoms of PTSD may get better within a month without treatment. But if the initial response to the trauma is severe, treatment should start sooner rather than later, otherwise it becomes harder to treat. Everyone who has experienced trauma should be given practical support in an empathic manner by health and…

PTSD in older adults

PTSD in older adults

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/special-reports/ptsd-late-life/page/0/1 Although most psychosocial interventions are similar to those used in PTSD treatment with younger adults (eg, education about symptoms, enhancement of social support, coping tools to more effectively manage symptoms), some specific concerns should be considered when working with older traumatized adults. First, it is crucial to consider older adults’ cognitive abilities to help…