Trauma Dynamics : Mapping the Autonomic Nervous System

A 35 minute training excerpt describing how the body responds to threats thereby creating many of the symptoms (anxiety, depression, bi-polar patterns, addiction) for which people enter psychotherapy. This is a very useful tool for therapists and clients alike

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Public health aspects of migrant health : a review of the evidence on health status for refugees and asylum seekers in the European Region

Abstract
Refugees and asylum seekers are defined in many ways but can be considered as those who did not make a voluntary choice to leave their country of origin and cannot return home in safety. Outcome

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What does the data say about the importance of eye movement in EMDR?

Earlier this year we published a paper that gave an up-to-date review of the evidence for whether eye movement had an effect in facilitating the processing of trauma memories (Lee & Cuijpers, 2013). In this paper we did a meta-analysis to look at this issue both in laboratory contexts and in treatment studies that used Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). Devilly, Lohr and Ono (in press) have provided a commentary on our article that contains many inaccuracies and several irrelevant points that could have the effect of clouding our findings.

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When bystanders become bothersome: The negative consequences of bystander conflict and the moderating role of resilience.

AbstractBystander conflict is a situation in which employees are hindered in their work by parties not involved in the primary process. Public service employees and emergency care workers, such as ambulance employees and firefighters, often encounter this kind of conflict with potentially far-reaching detrimental effects for public or patient safety. Unfortunately, until now, bystander conflict has hardly received scientific attention. In this paper, we will present the results of an experiment (Study 1) and a simulation study (Study 2).

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Vintage treatments for PTSD: A reconsideration of tricyclic drugs

Serotonin (SSRI) and serotonin-norepinephrine (SNRI) reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are the first-line recommended drug treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but despite their benefits, much residual pathology remains and no new drugs have yet emerged with a clearly demonstrated benefit for treating the disorder. A case is made that tricyclic drugs deserve a closer look, based on their ability to affect several of the main neurotransmitters that are relevant to PTSD.

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Understanding the elevated suicide risk of female soldiers during deployments

Background The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) has found that the proportional elevation in the US Army enlisted soldier suicide rate during deployment (compared with the never-deployed or previously deployed) is significantly higher among women than men, raising the possibility of gender differences in the adverse psychological effects of deployment.Method Person-month survival models based on a consolidated administrative database for active duty enlisted Regular Army soldiers in 2004-2009 (n = 975 057) were used to characterize the gender +ù deplo

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Resting state functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in veterans with and without post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that is associated with structural and functional alterations in several brain areas, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Here, we examine resting state functional connectivity of ACC subdivisions in PTSD, using a seed-based approach. Resting state magnetic resonance images were obtained from male veterans with (n = 31) and without (n = 25) PTSD, and healthy male civilian controls (n = 25).

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Reward functioning in PTSD: A systematic review exploring the mechanisms underlying anhedonia

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder. An important diagnostic feature of PTSD is anhedonia, which may result from deficits in reward functioning. This has however never been studied systematically in PTSD. To determine if PTSD is associated with reward impairments, we conducted a systematic review of studies in which reward functioning was compared between PTSD patients and healthy control participants, or investigated in relation to PTSD symptom severity.

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Rape Survivors' Trauma-Related Beliefs Before and After Cognitive Processing Therapy: Associations with PTSD and Depression Symptoms

This study examined whether cognitive distortions (i.e., assimilated and overaccommodated thoughts) and realistic (i.e., accommodated) thoughts assessed from impact statements written 5-10 years after completing cognitive processing therapy (CPT) accurately predicted posttreatment maintenance or decline in treatment gains during the same period. The sample included 50 women diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) secondary to rape who participated in a randomized clinical trial of CPT for PTSD.

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Pre-deployment differences in glucocorticoid sensitivity of leukocytes in soldiers developing symptoms of PTSD, depression or fatigue persist after return from military deployment

Deployed soldiers are at risk of developing stress-related conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and severe fatigue. We previously observed condition- and cell-specific differences in sensitivity of immune cells for regulation by glucocorticoids (GCs) pre-deployment between male soldiers with and without subsequent development of high levels of these stress-related symptoms. Here we investigated whether these pre-deployment dysregulations in GC-sensitivity of immune cells persisted after return from military deployment.

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