Challenges in treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

Background: Research shows that trauma-focused therapy and multimodal interventions are the two most
often used strategies in treatment of refugees suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While
preliminary evidence suggests that trauma-focused approaches may have some efficacy, this could not be
established for multimodal interventions. However, it may be that multimodal interventions have been studied
in more treatment-resistant refugees with very high levels of psychopathology, disability, and chronicity. In the

EMDR With Traumatized Refugees: From Experience-Based to Evidence-Based Practice

Many refugees resettled in Western countries suffer from an accumulation of traumatic and current stressors that contribute to mental health problems and may complicate trauma-focused treatment. Consequently, the acceptability, safety, and efficacy of trauma-focused treatment with refugees have been a matter of clinical and scientific interest. In recent years, the evidence has accumulated for narrative exposure therapy and culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy.

Developmental perspective on trauma

This book presents a new model on trauma. A new factor in this book is the impact of the child developmental stage itself on the perception of traumatic events. This concerns the way trauma influences the performance of the developmental tasks, a formative developmental perspective. A frame of...

Memory traces of trauma: Neurocognitive aspects of and therapeutic approaches for posttraumatic stress disorder

In the Netherlands, 81% of the general population experiences at least one potentially traumatic event in their life, such as a traffic accident, assault, rape, or disaster. Around 7% of people fulfill the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder at some point during their life. Certain details of the traumatic experience, such as the rifle of a gun, are remembered extensively by these...

Therapygenetics: the 5HTTLPR as a biomarker for response to psychological therapy?

Psychiatric illnesses are under polygenic influence and are associated with interactions between genetic variants and environmental exposures.1 Gene–environment interactions might not only predict onset of disease, but genetic biomarkers might also help the clinician to select the optimal treatment for patients.2 However, there is a lack of studies on therapygenetics for psychological treatment of psychiatric diseases.

Sleeping Worries Away or Worrying Away Sleep? Physiological Evidence on Sleep-Emotion Interactions

Recent findings suggest that sleep might serve a role in emotional coping. However, most findings are based on subjective reports of sleep quality, while the relation with underlying sleep physiology is still largely unknown. In this study, the impact of an emotionally distressing experience on the EEG correlates of sleep was assessed. In addition, the association between sleep physiological parameters and the extent of emotional attenuation over sleep was determined.

Psychosis in posttraumatic stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with the occurrence of secondary psychotic features, complicating treatment and resulting in negative outcomes. Some authors have suggested that PTSD with secondary psychotic features (PTSD-SP) is a diagnostic subtype of PTSD or even a separate diagnostic entity. However, other studies suggest that these psychotic features are just a form of psychiatric comorbidity, or a more severe form of re-experiencing symptoms, possibly related to a more severe or to specific kinds of traumatic events.

Cortisol and PTSD Symptoms Among Male and Female High-Exposure 9/11 Survivors

Only a few studies have examined cortisol response to trauma-related stressors in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We followed a sample of high-exposure survivors of the attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11, 32 men and 29 women) and examined their cortisol response after recalling the escape from the attack, 7 and 18 months post-9/11. PTSD symptoms and saliva cortisol levels were assessed before and after trauma recollection. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that PTSD symptoms and male sex predicted increased cortisol response following recollections.

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