As human beings, our physical and mental health cannot be separated from the environments in which we live. Climate change, if left unaddressed, is projected to have catastrophic consequences on the mental health of entire populations. The impacts of climate change on  traumatic stress and other aspects of mental health arise primarily from problems that are collectively, though not equally, experienced.

Overview

 Climate change is defined as significant long-term alterations in average weather patterns (e.g., temperature, precipitation, wind) due to the combination of natural processes and human activity.

 Climate change is associated with adverse impacts on mental health and wellbeing, including trauma.

 In April 2021, ISTSS released a detailed briefing paper describing the current state of knowledge on climate change and trauma and highlighting gaps to inform public health, policy, clinical, and research initiatives on this topic. 

Research findings show humanitarian work impacts one’s health. We conducted a prospective observational study among 618 international humanitarian aid workers (iHAWs)’ recruited from 76 countries to investigate health changes and ill-health risk factors after mostly short-term (<1 year) medical emergency assignments. The aid workers were assigned to 27 countries. Data collected between 2017 and 2020.

The Depressive and Anxious Avoidance in Prolonged Grief Questionnaire (DAAPGQ) was developed to measure depressive and anxious avoidance behaviors, which, according to cognitive-behavioral models, are supposed to play an important role in the development and maintenance of prolonged grief. The present study aimed to develop a German version of the DAAPGQ and evaluate its psychometric properties and validity within a representative sample of the German general population (N = 2531). The German-language DAAPGQ was  developed using a forward-backward translation procedure.

Bereaved people suffer from loneliness and loneliness is associated with poor mental health. In this study, this topic is reviewed. An agenda is suggested for future research. Research that is theory-driven, addresses measurement consistency, correlates of loneliness in bereaved and non-bereaved, and treatment is necessary for prevention and intervention.

Interview van Bessel van de Kolk en Eric Vermetten. 

Opeens was hij terug in de Hongerwinter. Een jochie was-ie, van 2 jaar oud, dat het koud had, bang was, een rammelende maag had. Psychiater Bessel van der Kolk (78) had er nooit bewuste herinneringen aan gehad, maar onder invloed van de psychedelische drug mdma voelde hij alsnog de pijn van toen. 

Background: This study evaluated the feasibility of a short-term, multimodal trauma-focused treatment approach adapted specifically for unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) in the Netherlands. This approach aims to overcome barriers to mental health care and to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms, and associated risk factors among a large-scale sample of adolescents from China after the pandemic and lockdown. 

Method: A total of 57,948 high school students took part in an online survey from July 13 to 29, 2020. The mental health outcomes included anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms. Risk factors included negative family relationships, COVID-19 related exposure, and a lack of social support.

Background: Refugee youth experience hardships associated with exposure to trauma in their homelands and during and after displacement, which results in higher rates of common mental disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed Problem Management Plus (PM+), a non-specialist-delivered brief psychological intervention, for individuals who have faced adversity. PM+ comprises problem-solving, stress management, behavioural activation and strengthening social support.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exposes individuals to multiple stressors, such as quarantine, physical distancing, job loss, risk of infection, and loss of loved ones. Such a complex array of stressors potentially lead to symptoms of adjustment disorder. 

Objective: This cross-sectional exploratory study examined relationships between risk and protective factors, stressors, and symptoms of adjustment disorder during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.