Promising Psychological Treatments

2012 ◽  
pp. 462-472
Author(s):  
Megan C. Kearns ◽  
Barbara Olasov Rothbaum
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Pharmacological Treatments ◽  
Psychological Treatments ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Family Based ◽  
The Many ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Important Progress

Exposure to traumatic events is highly prevalent, which has led to the creation of multiple psychosocial and pharmacological treatment approaches for individuals who subsequently develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite the availability of existing empirically supported treatments for PTSD, research indicates that a significant subset of patients fail to respond to treatment. As a result, there is a great need for the development of novel and innovative treatments that can address the diverse needs of individuals with trauma histories and that can alleviate symptoms of traumatic stress in a greater number of individuals. The following chapter outlines numerous promising treatments, including couple and family-based approaches, technological approaches, emotion-based therapies, pharmacological treatments, and treatments designed to address comorbidity. Although many of these approaches are in preliminary stages of development and require further study, they represent important progress in helping clinicians better serve the many needs of individuals with PTSD.

The Science of Resilience: Implications for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression

Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 338 (6103) ◽  
pp. 79-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Southwick ◽  
Dennis S. Charney
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Psychological Disorders ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Prevention And Treatment

Human responses to stress and trauma vary widely. Some people develop trauma-related psychological disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression; others develop mild to moderate psychological symptoms that resolve rapidly; still others report no new psychological symptoms in response to traumatic stress. Individual variability in how animals and humans respond to stress and trauma depends on numerous genetic, developmental, cognitive, psychological, and neurobiological risk and protective factors.

Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments: EMDR

2012 ◽  
pp. 448-462
Author(s):  
C. Richard Spates ◽  
Sophie Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Psychological Treatments ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Theoretical Mechanism ◽  
Effectiveness Trials ◽  
Empirical Foundation

In this chapter we review the empirical foundation for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reproessing Therapy (EMDR) for posttraumatic stress disorder. We present a brief description of the therapy, critically review recent primary and meta-analytic investigations concerning its efficacy and effectiveness, offer a summary of recent primary investigations that addressed the mechanism of action for EMDR, and based on this overall review, we suggest limitations with recommendations for future research. Recent empirical investigations of the efficacy of EMDR have improved along a number of important dimensions, and these along with the few completed effectiveness trials, position this therapy among evidence-based frontline interventions for PTSD. What is less thoroughly researched, and thus less well understood, are putative models of its theoretical mechanism of action. In addition to continuing specific improvements in research concerning efficacy and effectiveness, we recommend more and higher quality empirical studies of its mechanism of action.

scholarly journals Psychological treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder in adults: a network meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 542-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifigeneia Mavranezouli ◽  
Odette Megnin-Viggars ◽  
Caitlin Daly ◽  
Sofia Dias ◽  
Nicky J. Welton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Psychological Treatments ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Remission Rates ◽  
Post Traumatic

AbstractBackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a potentially chronic and disabling disorder affecting a significant minority of people exposed to trauma. Various psychological treatments have been shown to be effective, but their relative effects are not well established.MethodsWe undertook a systematic review and network meta-analyses of psychological interventions for adults with PTSD. Outcomes included PTSD symptom change scores post-treatment and at 1–4-month follow-up, and remission post-treatment.ResultsWe included 90 trials, 6560 individuals and 22 interventions. Evidence was of moderate-to-low quality. Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) [standardised mean difference (SMD) −2.07; 95% credible interval (CrI) −2.70 to −1.44], combined somatic/cognitive therapies (SMD −1.69; 95% CrI −2.66 to −0.73), trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) (SMD −1.46; 95% CrI −1.87 to −1.05) and self-help with support (SMD −1.46; 95% CrI −2.33 to −0.59) appeared to be most effective at reducing PTSD symptoms post-treatment v. waitlist, followed by non-TF-CBT, TF-CBT combined with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), SSRIs, self-help without support and counselling. EMDR and TF-CBT showed sustained effects at 1–4-month follow-up. EMDR, TF-CBT, self-help with support and counselling improved remission rates post-treatment. Results for other interventions were either inconclusive or based on limited evidence.ConclusionsEMDR and TF-CBT appear to be most effective at reducing symptoms and improving remission rates in adults with PTSD. They are also effective at sustaining symptom improvements beyond treatment endpoint. Further research needs to explore the long-term comparative effectiveness of psychological therapies for adults with PTSD and also the impact of severity and complexity of PTSD on treatment outcomes.

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