Trajectories of PTSD symptoms and predictive factors of trajectory membership: a step toward identifying veterans at risk

The article “Latent Trajectories of Trauma Symptoms and Resilience: The 3-Year Longitudinal Prospective USPER Study of Danish Veterans Deployed in Afghanistan” by Andersen and colleagues examines trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms from predeployment to 2.5 years postdeployment and the predictive factors of trajectory membership among a sample of Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face a number of psychological, physical, and social challenges perideployment and postdeployment.

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Trauma and dissociation: implications for borderline personality disorder

Psychological trauma can have devastating consequences on emotion regulatory capacities and lead to dissociative processes that provide subjective detachment from overwhelming emotional experience during and in the aftermath of trauma. Dissociation is a complex phenomenon that comprises a host of symptoms and factors, including depersonalization, derealization, time distortion, dissociative flashbacks, and alterations in the perception of the self. Dissociation occurs in up to two thirds of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

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The Role of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy in Medicine: Addressing the Psychological and Physical Symptoms Stemming from Adverse Life Experiences

A substantial body of research shows that adverse life experiences contribute to both psychological and biomedical pathology. Twenty-four randomized controlled trials support the positive effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy in the treatment of emotional trauma and other adverse life experiences relevant to clinical practice. Twelve randomized studies of the eye movement component noted rapid decreases in negative emotions and/or vividness of disturbing images

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The use of prolonged exposure therapy to help patients with post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by intrusive re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance behaviors, elevated arousal, and changes in cognition and mood. Nearly all individuals with PTSD suffer from at least one additional psychiatric diagnosis. Prolonged exposure is one of several evidence-based treatments for PTSD that has been efficacious for PTSD sufferers with a range of comorbid disorders. In this review, we first discuss the prevalence of PTSD comorbidity and the challenges that it presents to clinicians working with traumatized patients.

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'They Have Forgotten to Gas You': Post-1945 Antisemitism in the Netherlands

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The Relevance of Resources for Resilience at Different Organizational Levels within the Military Deployment Cycle

AbstractIn the current study, the relative importance of different resources for psychological resilience of service members is investigated. The study employs a model of psychological resilience developed for the Netherlands Armed Forces, which identifies 25 resources for resilience at 5 different levels (individual, home front, team, leader, organization).

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The role of complex PTSD in mediating childhood maltreatment and substance abuse severity among youth seeking substance abuse treatment

Research has indicated that childhood maltreatment is associated with youth substance use problems, however, this association is not yet fully understood. Consistent with theories that describe substance use problems as reflecting impaired self-regulation abilities, we hypothesized that complex posttraumatic stress disorder (Complex PTSD), reflecting disruptions in the development of self-regulatory capacities, would mediate the association between maltreatment and substance use problem severity.

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The one-carbon-cycle and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism in recurrent Major Depressive Disorder, influence of antidepressant use and depressive state?

AbstractBackgroundAn important biological factor suggested in the pathophysiology of (recurrent) Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) concerns a polymorphism in a gene encoding for the MTHFR-enzyme of the one-carbon (1-C)-metabolism.

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The need for careful study design when investigating the benefits of psychological interventions for trauma survivors: a commentary on Renner, Bänninger-Huber, Peltzer (2011)

Methodological concerns are explored and questions raised about the validity of conclusions reached in a recent article by Renner, B+ñnninger-Huber and Peltzer (2011). These authors reported treatment outcomes of Chechen asylum seekers and refugees with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression following treatment with Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a Culture- Sensitive and Resource Oriented Peer Group (CROP), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and a wait-list condition.

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The effect of trauma-focused therapy on the altered T cell distribution in individuals with PTSD. Evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with a reduced ratio of na+»ve cytotoxic T lymphocytes, an increased ratio of memory cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and a reduced proportion of FoxP3+ regulatory T lymphocytes. This study investigated whether these immunological alterations are reversible through an evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment. Therefore, 34 individuals with PTSD were randomly assigned to either a treatment condition of 12 sessions Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) or a waitlist control (WLC) group.

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