PTSD

Comparative effectiveness of group v. individual trauma-focused treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans

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BackgroundCognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) delivered in an individual setting are efficacious and effective treatments for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Group CPT has been shown to be less efficacious than individual CPT, however, evidence regarding real-world effectiveness is limited.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective, observational, comparative effectiveness study including veterans that received at least eight sessions of group CPT, individual CPT, or individual PE, and were discharged from PTSD residential treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1 October 2015, and 30 September 2020. PTSD symptom severity was assessed with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and treatments delivered in a group (CPT) or individual (CPT or PE) setting were compared at discharge and 4-month post-discharge follow-up.ResultsOf 6735 veterans, 3888 [653 women (17%), median (IQR) age 45 (35–55) years] received individual and 2847 [206 women (7.2%), median (IQR) age 42 (34–54)] received group therapy. At discharge, improvement in PTSD severity was statistically greater among those treated individually (mean difference on the PCL-5, 2.55 (95% CI 1.61–3.49); p =

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Understanding PTSD Symptoms Over Time: Longitudinal Network Analysis

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Background
Network modeling has been applied in a range of trauma-exposed samples, yet results are limited by an over reliance on cross-sectional data. The current analyses used posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom data collected over a 5-year period to estimate a more robust between-subject network and an associated symptom change network.

Methods
A PTSD symptom network is measured in a sample of military veterans across four time points (Ns = 1254, 1231, 1106, 925). The repeated measures permit isolating between-subject associations by limiting the effects of within-subject variability. The result is a highly reliable PTSD symptom network. A symptom slope network depicting covariation of symptom change over time is also estimated.

Results
Negative trauma-related emotions had particularly strong associations with the network. Trauma-related amnesia, sleep disturbance, and self-destructive behavior had weaker overall associations with other PTSD symptoms.

Conclusions
PTSD’s network structure appears stable over time. There is no single ‘most important’ node or node cluster. The relevance of self-destructive behavior, sleep disturbance, and trauma-related amnesia to the PTSD construct may deserve additional consideration.

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Sleep spindles are more than just a strange phenomenon that happens during sleep. They play an essential role in soothing PTSD anxiety and enhancing memory retention.

Leave a Comment / Anxiety and Sleep, Anxiety and Sleep / Insomnia, Anxiety News, Anxiety Research, Trauma and Anxiety /

Brief bursts of brain activity during sleep known as sleep spindles could potentially help regulate anxiety in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers believe that the study’s findings may be useful for people with anxiety disorders and are looking at non-invasive ways to harness the benefits of this sleep stage to relieve symptoms. The study also suggests that sleep hygiene, electrical brain stimulation, or prescription sleep medications could promote the sleep spindles associated with non-rapid eye movement 2 (NREM2) sleep and potentially benefit patients with stress and anxiety disorders.

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Posttrauma Anxiety and Depression Explained by Previous Trauma – Racial and Ethnic Differences Identified

Leave a Comment / Anxiety News, PTSD Trauma and Anxiety, Trauma and Anxiety, Trauma Research /

Background
Racial and ethnic groups in the USA differ in the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent research however has not observed consistent racial/ethnic differences in posttraumatic stress in the early aftermath of trauma, suggesting that such differences in chronic PTSD rates may be related to differences in recovery over time.

Methods
As part of the multisite, longitudinal AURORA study, we investigated racial/ethnic differences in PTSD and related outcomes within 3 months after trauma. Participants (n = 930) were recruited from emergency departments across the USA and provided periodic (2 weeks, 8 weeks, and 3 months after trauma) self-report assessments of PTSD, depression, dissociation, anxiety, and resilience. Linear models were completed to investigate racial/ethnic differences in posttraumatic dysfunction with subsequent follow-up models assessing potential effects of prior life stressors.

Results
Racial/ethnic groups did not differ in symptoms over time; however, Black participants showed reduced posttraumatic depression and anxiety symptoms overall compared to Hispanic participants and White participants. Racial/ethnic differences were not attenuated after accounting for differences in sociodemographic factors. However, racial/ethnic differences in depression and anxiety were no longer significant after accounting for greater prior trauma exposure and childhood emotional abuse in White participants.

Conclusions
The present findings suggest prior differences in previous trauma exposure partially mediate the observed racial/ethnic differences in posttraumatic depression and anxiety symptoms following a recent trauma. Our findings further demonstrate that racial/ethnic groups show similar rates of symptom recovery over time. Future work utilizing longer time-scale data is needed to elucidate potential racial/ethnic differences in long-term symptom trajectories.

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The integration of yoga breathing techniques in cognitive behavioral therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial

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In trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), stabilization techniques are used before confrontation ones to increase stress/affect tolerance and thus effectiveness of CBT. This study investigated the effects of pranayama, meditative yoga breathing and breath holding techniques, as a complimentary stabilization technique in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Seventy-four PTSD-patients (84% female, 44.2 ± 13 years) were randomized

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Post-traumatic stress disorder and associated factors among adult war survivors in Northwest Ethiopia: Community-based, cross-sectional study

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A person may endure or witness a traumatic incident, such as being exposed to war, and, as a result, develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). … This study aimed to assess the prevalence of PTSD and associated factors among war survivors in Nefas Meewcha Town, South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia, 2022. … … the prevalence of PTSD

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Walking through the valley of the shadow of death—The psychotherapy of the head and neck cancer patient expressing suicidal ideations and impulses

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Journal of Clinical Psychology, EarlyView.

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Group early intervention eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy as a video-conference psychotherapy with frontline/emergency workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury—An RCT study

Leave a Comment / Anxiety and healthcare workers, Anxiety Research, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Stress Resources, trauma /

ObjectiveFrontline mental health, emergency, law enforcement, and social workers have faced unprecedented psychological distress in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the RCT (Randomized Controls Trial) study was to investigate the effectiveness of a Group EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy (Group Traumatic Episode Protocol—GTEP) in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Moral Injury. The treatment focus is an early intervention, group trauma treatment, delivered remotely as video-conference psychotherapy (VCP). This early intervention used an intensive treatment delivery of 42-h sessions over 1 week. Additionally, the group EMDR intervention utilized therapist rotation in treatment delivery.MethodsThe study’s design comprised a delayed (1-month) treatment intervention (control) versus an active group. Measurements included the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Moral Injury Events Scale (MIES), and a Quality-of-Life psychometric (EQ-5D), tested at T0, T1: pre—treatment, T2: post-treatment, T3: 1-month follow-up (FU), T4: 3-month FU, and T5: 6-month FU. The Adverse Childhood Experiences – International version (ACEs), Benevolent Childhood Experience (BCEs) was ascertained at pre-treatment only. N = 85 completed the study.ResultsResults highlight a significant treatment effect within both active and control groups. Post Hoc comparisons of the ITQ demonstrated a significant difference between T1 pre (mean 36.8, SD 14.8) and T2 post (21.2, 15.1) (t11.58) = 15.68, p 

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[UK] Girlfriend has airplaine trauma but she needs to fly for a funeral. How do we get her something to keep her calm enough to fly?

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After a pretty scary landing (engines screaming, people lifting out of their seats, stuff flying around the cabin), my girlfriend has been left traumatised. She was meant to fly last year to see family for christmas, but even a week before the flight she was waking up in the night and vomiting from anxiety. She

[UK] Girlfriend has airplaine trauma but she needs to fly for a funeral. How do we get her something to keep her calm enough to fly? Read More »

The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Mental Health

Leave a Comment / post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychiatry, psychotherapy, trauma /

The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Mental Health Christian Jonathan Haverkampf 8th November 2022 Contents Introduction. 0 The Trauma. 2 Trauma Type. 2 Dose-Response Relationship and Repeated Trauma. 4 Health Issues. 5 Mental Health Impairment. 5 Social Functioning. 5 Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis, and Suicide. 6 Physical Illness. 7 Mechanisms. 8 Psychosocial Functioning. 9 Brain

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