Is Exposure Necessary? A Randomized Clinical Trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for PTSD

Objective:
Exposure to trauma reminders has been considered imperative in psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors tested interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), which has demonstrated antidepressant efficacy and shown promise in pilot PTSD research as a non-exposure-based non-cognitive-behavioral PTSD treatment.
Method:

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Chronic pain and comorbid mental health conditions: independent associations of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression with pain, disability, and quality of life

Both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are highly comorbid with chronic pain and have deleterious effects on pain and treatment outcomes, but the nature of the relationships among chronic pain, PTSD, and depression has not been fully elucidated. This study examined 250 Veterans Affairs primary care patients with moderate to severe chronic musculoskeletal pain who participated in a randomized controlled pain treatment trial.

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Trajectory of post-traumatic stress following traumatic injury: 6-year follow-up

Abstract
Background
Traumatic injuries affect millions of patients each year, and resulting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) significantly contributes to subsequent impairment.
Aims
To map the distinctive long-term trajectories of PTSD responses over 6 years by using latent growth mixture modelling.
Method
Randomly selected injury patients (n = 1084) admitted to four hospitals around Australia were assessed in hospital, and at 3, 12, 24 and 72 months. Lifetime psychiatric history and current PTSD severity and funxctioning were assessed.

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Predictive validity of the Trauma Screening Questionnaire in detecting post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with psychotic disorders

Background
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in patients with a psychotic disorder. Because a PTSD diagnosis is often missed in patients with psychosis in routine care, a valid screening instrument could be helpful.
Aims
To determine the validity of the Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ) as a screening tool for PTSD among individuals with psychotic disorders.
Method

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Veteran satisfaction and treatment preferences in response to a posttraumatic stress disorder specialty clinic orientation group

To maximize accessibility to evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has widely disseminated cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) therapy to VA clinicians. However, there is a lack of research on veteran preferences when presented with a range of psychotherapy and medication options. This study uses a mixed-method approach to explore veteran satisfaction with a VA PTSD specialty clinic pre-treatment orientation group, which provides education about available PTSD treatment options.

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Imagery vividness ratings during exposure treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder as a predictor of treatment outcome

Within exposure-based trauma treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), imagery vividness during imaginal exposure of the traumatic memory is an understudied but potentially important predictor of treatment outcome. Further, to our knowledge, this relationship has only been studied in women to date, and never among individuals with PTSD and substance use disorders which could impact ability to produce vivid mental imagery and its impact.

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Restoring large-scale brain networks in PTSD and related disorders: a proposal for neuroscientifically-informed treatment interventions

Background: Three intrinsic connectivity networks in the brain, namely the central executive, salience, and default mode networks, have been identified as crucial to the understanding of higher cognitive functioning, and the functioning of these networks has been suggested to be impaired in psychopathology, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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EMDR for Syrian refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: results of a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background: The most common mental health problems among refugees are depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective treatment for PTSD. However, no previous randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been published on treating PTSD symptoms in a refugee camp population.
Objective: Examining the effect of EMDR to reduce the PTSD and depression symptoms compared to a wait-list condition among Syrian refugees.

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The Shutdown Dissociation Scale (Shut-D)

Abstract

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Predictors of delayed disclosure of rape in female adolescents and young adults

Background: Delayed disclosure of rape has been associated with impaired mental health; it is, therefore, important to understand which factors are associated with disclosure latency. The purpose of this study was to compare various demographics, post-rape characteristics, and psychological functioning of early and delayed disclosers (i.e., more than 1-week post-rape) among rape victims, and to determine predictors for delayed disclosure.

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