This study investigated the relationship between five forms of childhood maltreatment (sexual, physical and emotional abuse, emotional and physical neglect) and 10 personality disorders (PDs). PDs were assessed by means of SCID II, and childhood maltreatment was retrospectively measured with the Interview for Traumatic Events in Childhood. Both PDs and childhood maltreatment were expressed continuously, and relations were assessed by means of structural equation modelling in a sample of 409 participants.

Background: Disaster experiences have been associated with higher prevalence rates of (mental) health problems. The objective of this study was to examine the independent relation between a series of single disaster experiences versus the independent predictive value of a accumulation of disaster experiences, i.e. a sum score of experiences and symptoms of distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Patients’ self-reports of explanatory models (EMs) are sensitive to distortions, particularly as a result of social desirability, uncertainty towards one’s own beliefs, and ethnic disparities with the interviewer. In contrast, reaction-time-based indirect measures are thought to be less sensitive to such factors. This article reports on two studies that applied direct (interview) and indirect (reaction-time-based association task) measures of EMs.

This article describes briefly the Hofstede model of six dimensions of national cultures: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint. It shows the conceptual and research efforts that preceded it and led up to it, and once it had become a paradigm for comparing cultures, research efforts that followed and built on it. The article stresses that dimensions depend on the level of aggregation, it describes the six entirely different dimensions found in the Hofstede et al.

The most prevalent mental disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, are associated with both functional and morphological brain changes that commonly involve the 'fear network' including the (medial) prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala. Patients suffering from anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder often show excessive amygdala and reduced prefrontal cortex functioning. It is, however, still unclear whether these brain abnormalities disappear or diminish following effective treatment.

Proponents of gestalt therapy see the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) as a reaction to an open gestalt-an interruption of the contact-experience cycle. Gestalt-therapeutic treatment for PTSD Is designed to close the open gestalt of traumatic experience and integrate it into the biography of the patient. Use of the empty-chair dialogue technique is frequent. In the field of psychotraumatology, gestalt therapy has received little recognition and is hardly represented at all in university institutions.

Obwohl komplextraumatisierte/dissoziative Patienten sehr häufig unter ekelhaften Umständen traumatisiert wurden, ist gerade zum Thema Ekel – ausgenommen spezielle Studien im Bereich der Psychosomatik – bisher in der Psychotraumatologie wenig geforscht worden. Ekel scheint im Gegensatz zu Angst, Scham und Trauer (Depression) sowohl bei den Patienten als auch bei den Psychotraumatherapeuten einem unbewussten Tabu zu unterliegen.In unserer ambulanten Pilotstudie an 71 Patienten wurden mit einem Pilotekelfragebogen (PEFB) wichtige neue Hypothesen zu diesem Thema aufgeworfen.

Background. The literature suggests a link between childhood trauma and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, including nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality. We assessed the impact of a pilot dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) programme on reducing trauma-related symptoms and improving emotional regulation, suicidality, and NSSI in adolescents. Methods. Six adolescents attending a community mental health service received 26 weeks of DBT, together with a parent. Independent assessors collected measures on each participant at baseline, posttreatment, and three-month followup.

De diagnostiek van posttraumatische stressproblematiek is onlosmakelijk verbonden geraakt met de invoering van de diagnose posttraumatische stressstoornis (PTSS) in de DSM, nu ruim een kwart eeuw geleden. De introductie van dit begrip heeft de ontwikkeling van tal van gestandaardiseerde (zelfbeoordelings)vragenlijsten voor posttraumatische stressreacties gestimuleerd. In deze bijdrage wordt een overzicht geboden van deze vragenlijsten en wordt ingegaan op risico's en beperkingen ervan.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States and contains a listing of diagnostic criteria for every psychiatric disorder recognized by the U.S. healthcare system.