Abstract

This study replicates and extends prior research on the relationship of childhood complex trauma (CCT) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) in adulthood, examining the role of psychoform and somatoform dissociation as a potential mediator. CCT, dissociation, and cPTSD were assessed in a large sample of adult psychiatric inpatients. Almost two thirds of participants reported having experienced CCT. Path analyses with bootstrap confidence intervals demonstrated a relationship between CCT, psychoform (but not somatoform) dissociation, and cPTSD.

Psychological theories have been developed to explain why certain trauma survivors go to develop PTSD and others not. These theories try to capture what happens at the level of the trauma survivor's personal experiences, in terms of thoughts , memory, emotions, behaviours and underlying processes of which the person is unaware.

Objective: To determine whether group therapy improves symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this randomized clinical trial compared efficacy of group cognitive processing therapy cognitive only version; CPT-C) with group present-centered therapy (PCT) for active duty military personnel. Method: Patients attended 90-min groups twice weekly for 6 weeks at Fort Hood, Texas. Independent assessments were administered at baseline, weekly before sessions, and 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months posttreatment. A total of 108 service members (100 men, 8 women) were randomized.