ISTSS Guidelines Position Paper on Complex PTSD in Adults

For the past two decades, there has been substantial debate about whether there are qualitatively different symptom profiles that can develop from different experiences of traumatic events. It has been proposed that more complex symptom profiles, called “complex PTSD,” can emerge from events that involve multiple, chronic or repeated types of traumas that are of an interpersonal nature and from which escape is difficult or impossible such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, genocide campaigns and being a prisoner of war (Herman, 1992).

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How do men with severe sexual and physical childhood traumatization experience traumastabilizing group treatment? A qualitative study

Background: Exposure to potentially traumatizing events, defined as events involving actual or threatened death or serious injury, is associated with an elevated risk of developing enduring physical, psychological and social problems. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that can occur after prolonged and repeated trauma. At least 30% of the sexually abused population is male, but in spite of this fact, treatment research focusing on male victims is virtually non-existent in comparison to research on female victims.

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Intensive prolonged exposure therapy for chronic PTSD patients following multiple trauma and multiple treatment attempts

ABSTRACT

Background: Suboptimal response and high dropout rates leave room for improvement of trauma-focused treatment (TFT) effectiveness in ameliorating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Objective: To explore the effectiveness and safety of intensive prolonged exposure (iPE) targeting chronic PTSD patients with a likely diagnosis of ICD-11 Complex PTSD following multiple interpersonal trauma and a history of multiple treatment attempts.

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Chapter 13 - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

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Trauma transmission in Adult Offspring of Jewish Holocaust Survivors

During psychotherapy a man describes a dream, “I am hiding in the cellar from soldiers who are searching for me. Overwhelmed by anxiety, I know that if they find me they will kill me on the spot . . . Then I am standing in line for selection; the smell of burning flesh is in the air and I can hear shots fired. Faceless and undernourished people with striped uniforms march away to the crematoriums. Then I am in a pit full of dead, skeletal bodies. I struggle desperately to bury the cadavers in the mud . . . I feel guilty for what has happened, though I do not know why.

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Posttraumatic world assumptions among treatment-seeking refugees.

Abstract

The clinical relevance of negative changes in cognitions about oneself, others, and the world is reflected in the diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the DSM-5 and complex posttraumatic stress disorder in the ICD-11. Although such changes in cognition have been posited to be especially relevant for traumatised refugees, few studies have examined this in refugee populations.

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Intensive prolonged exposure treatment for adolescent complex posttraumatic stress disorder : a single-trial design

Background

The current study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of intensive prolonged exposure (PE) targeting adolescent patients with complex posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid disorders following multiple interpersonal trauma.

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Relationship between Trauma due to Winter Storm Alexa, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Other Mental Health Problems of Palestinian Children in Gaza Strip

Aim: This study investigated the relationship between trauma due to winter storm Alexa, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems (MHPs) of Palestinian children in Gaza Strip.

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Complex PTSD and phased treatment in refugees: a debate piece

Background: Asylum seekers and refugees have been claimed to be at increased risk of developing complex posttraumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD). Consequently, it has been recommended that refugees be treated with present-centred or phased treatment rather than stand-alone trauma-focused treatment. This recommendation has contributed to a clinical practice of delaying or waiving trauma-focused treatment in refugees with PTSD.

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Peritraumatic Distress and Dissociation in Prolonged Grief and Post-Traumatic Stress Following Violent and Unexpected Deaths

Abstract: This study examined associations between the violence of a loss and the suddenness of a loss and symptom levels of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the death of a loved one. A further aim was to investigate whether peritraumatic distress (i.e., fear, helplessness, and horror) and peritraumatic dissociation mediate the emotional impact of violent losses and unexpected losses. We obtained self-reported data from 265 individuals bereaved in the previous 3 years by losses due to violent causes (17%) or illness (83%).

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