Incorporating Psychological Debriefing Techniques within a Brief Group Psychotherapy Programme for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

1995 ◽  
Vol 167 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Busuttil ◽  
Gordon J. Turnbull ◽  
Leigh A. Neal ◽  
John Rollins ◽  
Adrian G. West ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Psychotherapy ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Psychological Debriefing ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
One Year

BackgroundThe Royal Air Force Wroughton Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Rehabilitation Programme is described. It comprised a 12-day structured in-patient ‘course’ of group psychotherapy and day-case group follow-up sessions over a one-year period. Psychological debriefing was the main therapeutic technique employed.MethodThis is a ‘before and after’ open outcome study. A comprehensive assessment protocol confirmed the presence and severity of PTSD and measured co-morbid psychopathological status, occupational and social function longitudinally.ResultsA highly significant global response to treatment is demonstrated in the 34 subjects included in the study, with 85.3% not fulfilling the DSM–III–R criteria for PTSD at one year after treatment.ConclusionsFurther controlled studies assessing the value of psychological debriefing techniques in the treatment of established PTSD are required.

Challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Iraq: biochemical network and methodologies. A brief review

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Suzete Persike ◽  
Suad Yousif Al-Kass
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Biochemical Network ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Biochemical Mechanisms

AbstractPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multifaceted syndrome due to its complex pathophysiology. Signals of illness include alterations in genes, proteins, cells, tissues, and organism-level physiological modifications. Specificity of sensitivity to PTSD suggests that response to trauma depend on gender and type of adverse event being experienced. Individuals diagnosed with PTSD represent a heterogeneous group, as evidenced by differences in symptoms, course, and response to treatment. It is clear that the biochemical mechanisms involved in PTSD need to be elucidated to identify specific biomarkers. A brief review of the recent literature in Pubmed was made to explore the major biochemical mechanisms involved in PTSD and the methodologies applied in the assessment of the disease. PTSD shows pre-exposure vulnerability factors in addition to trauma-induced alterations. The disease was found to be associated with dysfunctions of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) and hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid axis. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity play a role in PTSD by releasing norepinephrine and epinephrine. Cortisol release from the adrenal cortex amplifies the SNS response. Cortisol levels in PTSD patients, especially women, are later reduced by a negative feedback mechanism which contributes to neuroendocrine alterations and promotes structural changes in the brain leading to PTSD. Gender differences in normal HPA responsiveness may be due to an increased vulnerability in women to PTSD. Serotonin and dopamine levels were found to be abnormal in the presence of PTSD. Mechanisms such as the induction of neuroinflammation and alterations of mitochondrial energy processing were also associated with PTSD.

scholarly journals One-year clinical outcomes following theta burst stimulation for post-traumatic stress disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 940-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Petrosino ◽  
Mascha van ’t Wout-Frank ◽  
Emily Aiken ◽  
Hannah R. Swearingen ◽  
Jennifer Barredo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
One Year ◽  
Theta Burst

AbstractTheta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) is a potential new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We previously reported active intermittent TBS (iTBS) was associated with superior clinical outcomes for up to 1-month, in a sample of fifty veterans with PTSD, using a crossover design. In that study, participants randomized to the active group received a total of 4-weeks of active iTBS, or 2-weeks if randomized to sham. Results were superior with greater exposure to active iTBS, which raised the question of whether observed effects persisted over the longer-term. This study reviewed naturalistic outcomes up to 1-year from study endpoint, to test the hypothesis that greater exposure to active iTBS would be associated with superior outcomes. The primary outcome measure was clinical relapse, defined as any serious adverse event (e.g., suicide, psychiatric hospitalization, etc.,) or need for retreatment with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Forty-six (92%) of the initial study’s intent-to-treat participants were included. Mean age was 51.0 ± 12.3 years and seven (15.2%) were female. The group originally randomized to active iTBS (4-weeks active iTBS) demonstrated superior outcomes at one year compared to those originally randomized to sham (2-weeks active iTBS); log-rank ChiSq = 5.871, df = 1, p = 0.015; OR = 3.50, 95% CI = 1.04–11.79. Mean days to relapse were 296.0 ± 22.1 in the 4-week group, and 182.0 ± 31.9 in the 2-week group. When used, rTMS retreatment was generally effective. Exploratory neuroimaging revealed default mode network connectivity was predictive of 1-year outcomes (corrected p < 0.05). In summary, greater accumulated exposure to active iTBS demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in the year following stimulation, and default mode connectivity could be used to predict longer-term outcomes.

Medium-Term Course of Disaster Victims

1995 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Duggan ◽  
J. Gunn
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Severe Trauma ◽  
Consecutive Series ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
One Year

BackgroundOur aim was to describe the medium-term course (2–3 years) in a series of victims who had experienced severe trauma.MethodWe selected a consecutive series of 31 trauma victims and applied a structured clinical schedule (CAPS-2) to their psychiatric evaluations prepared for the court on two separate occasions approximately one year apart.ResultsPost-traumatic stress disorder and depression were the commonest diagnoses, occurring in 39% and 16% of the victims respectively when they were first assessed. Most had improved between the assessments and this was especially the case for the re-experiencing of the trauma and over-arousal, but less so for avoidance; 20% of subjects showed no improvement, often being handicapped by secondary psychiatric illness.ConclusionTraumatised victims generally showed recovery in the 2–3 years after the trauma, but this was slow and was not universal.

Depression in post-traumatic stress disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 703-722
Author(s):  
Milen L. Radell ◽  
Eid Abo Hamza ◽  
Ahmed A. Moustafa
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Post Traumatic

AbstractMajor depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms commonly occur after trauma-exposure, both alone and in combination with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article reviews recent research on comorbidity between these disorders, including its implications for symptom severity and response to treatment. Despite considerable symptom overlap, the two disorders represent distinct constructs and depend, at least in part, on separate biological mechanisms. Both, however, are also clearly related to stress psychopathology. We recommend that more research focus specifically on the study of individual differences in symptom expression in order to identify distinct subgroups of individuals and develop targeted treatments. However, a barrier to this line of inquiry is the trend of excluding particular patients from clinical trials of new interventions based on symptom severity or comorbidity. Another obstacle is the overreliance on self-report measures in human research. We argue that developing computer-based behavioral measures in order to supplement self-report can help address this challenge. Furthermore, we propose that these measures can help tie findings from human and non-human animal research. A number of paradigms have been used to model MDD-and PTSD-like behavior in animals. These models remain valuable for understanding the biological basis of these disorders in humans and for identifying potential interventions, but they have been underused for the study of comorbidity. Although the interpretation of animal behavior remains a concern, we propose that this can also be overcome through the development of close human analogs to animal paradigms.

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