Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the fastest growing compensated medical conditions. The present study compared usual disability examiner practices for PTSD with a standardized assessment that incorporates evidence-based assessments. The design was a multicenter, cluster randomized, parallel-group study involving 33 clinical examiners and 384 veterans at 6 Veterans Affairs medical centers. The standardized group incorporated the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule-II into their assessment interview.

Little is known about the possible predictors of treatment outcome in early chronically sexually abused adults. The current study aimed to investigate what impact initial levels of dissociation and pre-treatment negative change in interpersonal functioning have on treatment response after 3 months of first-phase trauma inpatient treatment as well as after a period of 1 year the patients returned to their usual lives.

OBJECTIVE: Data on the impact of childhood life events and childhood trauma on the clinical course of depressive and anxiety disorders are limited. METHOD: Longitudinal data were collected from 1209 adult participants in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Childhood life events and trauma at baseline were assessed with a semi-structured interview and the clinical course after 2 years with a DSM-IV-based diagnostic interview and Life Chart Interview. RESULTS: At baseline, 18.4% reported at least one childhood life event and 57.8% any childhood trauma.

Hoofdagente Jennifer (24) raakte zwaar gewond toen ze in mei 2012 werd neergestoken tijdens haar dienst in Den haag. Ze vocht voor haar leven, maar is inmiddels weer aan het werk. In dit artikel haar verhaal.

Het proefschrift van Boris Drož?ek presenteert een model voor het begrijpen van posttraumatische gevolgen bij asielzoekers en vluchtelingen. Dit model beschouwt deze gevolgen vanuit het levensloopperspectief van de overlevende en inventariseert zowel de psychologische als de psychosociale en maatschappelijke veranderingen in zijn of haar leefwereld. Op basis van dit model is een groepsbehandeling ontworpen. De behandeling richt zich op zowel de bronnen van veerkracht als op de posttraumatische beschadigingen. De resultaten van deze interventie staan centraal in deze thesis.

In dit artikel vertelt de 97-jarige Birmaspoorwegveteraan Charles Dibbets over zijn ervaringen tijdens zijn krijgsgevangenschap..

In this introduction to the Special Issue on Trauma and Idioms of Distress, we provide an overview of the concept and typology of idioms of distress, focusing particularly on their clinical utility. This includes the role of idioms as indicators of trauma exposure, of various types of psychopathology and of levels of distress, risk and functioning. It likewise includes the fact that idioms of distress may profoundly influence the personal meaning of having a trauma-related disorder, may shape the interpersonal course of the disorder and may pattern help-seeking and self-treatment.

Recent analysis of the ethics of research with refugees suggests that there are practical and theoretical issues to be addressed in achieving informed consent from participants who are in vulnerable situations. This article reviews the questions that are central to this concern, focusing in particular on the challenge of ensuring that the human agency of refugees is sustained and promoted. A model for research work with refugees is described and discussed, drawn from a participatory action research project, which demonstrates a way in which these core ethical principles can be achieved.

Research exploring nonspecific mechanisms of change is necessary to understand processes that contribute to psychotherapy outcomes. Many veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report a profound sense of hopelessness prior to receiving treatment, and thus one possible nontargeted change mechanism is the enhancement of hope. In this study, 164 veterans diagnosed with PTSD and admitted to a Veteran's Administration residential treatment program received 6 weeks of cognitive processing therapy.