ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine course and predictors of fatigue in military personnel deployed to Afghanistan.

Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy (BEP) is a manualized psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which has proven effective for police officers. This article reports on a randomized clinical trial using BEP to treat other types of PTSD patients recruited from an outpatient clinic. Twenty-four patients were randomly assigned to a treatment or a waitlist group. Assessment of PTSD was made before and after the treatment period (4 months). No significant differences between the groups were observed at pretest.

BACKGROUND:
About 10% of trauma-exposed individuals develop PTSD. Although a growing number of studies have investigated resting-state abnormalities in PTSD, inconsistent results suggest a need for a meta-analysis and a systematic review.
METHODS:

Abstract

Objectives Policing is generally considered a high-risk profession for the development of mental health problems, but this assumption lacks empirical evidence. Research question of the present study is to what extent mental health disturbances, such as (very) severe symptoms of anxiety, depression and hostility are more prevalent among police officers than among other occupational groups.

Design Multicomparative cross-sectional study using the data of several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in the Netherlands.

Health care providers need to be aware that stress complaints that result from deployment can emerge even after many years. This has important implications for health care policies. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relation between the development of posttraumatic stress and other mental health complaints and the burden on (mental) health care after a deployment.

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been suggested as a promising pharmacological agent for medication-enhanced psychotherapy in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of its anxiolytic and prosocial properties. We therefore investigated the behavioral and neurobiological effects of a single intranasal OT administration (40 IU) in PTSD patients. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over resting-state fMRI study in male and female police officers with (n=37, 21 males) and without PTSD (n=40, 20 males).

Although severe gynaecological pathology during delivery and negative outcome have been shown to be related with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) little is known about traumatic experiences following regular delivery, at the expected time and with a healthy child. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of PTSD during postpartum period after vaginal delivery and its risk factors.

With its open access character, the European Journal of Psychotraumatology aims to promote evidence-based treatments around the world, while at the same time welcoming new forms of treatment without losing its critical scientific eye. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is by now a well-established treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Existing tools for evaluating psychosocial interventions (un-validated self-reporting questionnaires) are not ideal for use in non-Western conflict settings. We implement a generic method of treatment evaluation, using client and counsellor feedback, in 18 projects in non-Western humanitarian settings. We discuss our findings from the perspective of validity and suggestions for future research. A retrospective analysis is executed using data gathered from psychosocial projects.

Five years ago, the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) launched European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) (Olff, 2010). Knowing very little about the world of publishing and in particular about Open Access, it was quite an adventure! Somewhat idealistic, and after having been convinced that Open Access is the future publishing model, we performed a detailed search among potential publishers and found Co-Action Publishing, a relatively small Swedish publisher but with a great deal of experience in journals publishing and with a passion for Open Access.