Warring Identities: Identity Conflict and the Mental Distress of American Veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Drawing from 26 life story interviews of recent American veterans, this paper analyzes the identity struggle faced by soldiers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and reentering the civilian world. Instead of examining veterans’ problems as a consequence of post-combat mental illnesses such as PTSD and major depression, we analyze the contrast between the participants’ identities as soldiers and their identities as civilians.

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.

Breathing-Based Meditation Decreases Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in U.S. Military Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Longitudinal Study

Given the limited success of conventional treatments for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), investigations of alternative approaches are warranted. We examined the effects of a breathing-based meditation intervention, Sudarshan Kriya yoga, on PTSD outcome variables in U.S. male veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war. We randomly assigned 21 veterans to an active (n = 11) or waitlist control (n = 10) group.

Risk of PTSD in Service Members Who Were Fired Upon by the Enemy Is Higher in Those Who Also Returned Fire

 An unusual characteristic of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that, because of attacks by snipers and improvised explosive devices (IED), many U.S. service members may come under attack without having exchanged fire. It was hypothesized that this would be associated with greater severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

The Role of Resilience and Social Support in Predicting Postdeployment Adjustment in Otherwise Healthy Navy Personnel

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine if resilience, social support, and exposure to combat, stressful deployment environments, and additional stressful life events predicted short-term (12 months or less) postdeployment adjustment in a relatively healthy subset of Navy service members. One hundred and thirty-two service members between 3 and 6 months postdeployment completed anonymous surveys at a deployment health center. Service members with probable post-traumatic stress disorder and those who were at risk for harm to self or others were excluded.

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...

Social organizational stressors and post-disaster mental health disturbances: A longitudinal study

Social organizational stressors are well-known predictors of mental health disturbances (MHD). However, to what extent these stressors predict post-disaster MHD among employed victims hardly received scientific attention and is clearly understudied. For this purpose we examined to what extent these stressors independently predict MHD 1.5 years post-disaster over and above well-known risk factors such as disaster exposure, initial MHD and lack of general social support, life-events in the past 12 months and demographics (N=423).

Beyond Storms & Droughts: The Psychological Impacts of Climate Change [Eng]

Research and communications about the impacts of climate change have generally focused on physical impacts, like more extreme storms, rising sea levels, and increasingly severe droughts. Psychological impacts, on the other hand, have received comparatively little attention. The goal of this report is to summarize these and other impacts on human well-being, and provide climate communicators, planners, policymakers, public health officials, and other leaders the tools they need to both respond to these impacts and bolster public engagement around climate change.

Psychotraumanet under construction

Dear visitor,

Psychotraumanet (knowledge network psychosocial care after shocking events) is presently under construction. "Filling" psychotraumanet with content will take some time.  We aim to finish this during the summer of 2014.

 

Website Dokin : German War Children in the Netherlands

Dokin is a Dutch acronym for Duitse Oorlogskinderen INederland (German War Children in the Netherlands). Here you will find information about the refugee children from the Third Reich who came to the Netherlands after Kristallnacht.

 

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