Long term psychosocial consequences for disaster affected persons belonging to ethnic minorities

In deze dissertatie staan de psychosociale gevolgen voor getroffen etnische minderheden van de Vuurwerkramp te Enschede centraal. Er wordt gebruik gemaakt van drie methoden van onderzoek: een vergelijkend vragenlijstonderzoek, een kwalitatief onderzoek en een huisartsenmonitor. De gepresenteerde studies in deze dissertatie beschrijven of er inderdaad verschillen zijn in posttraumatische problemen tussen etnische groepen.

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Long-Term Outcomes of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Female Rape Survivors

Objective: We conducted a long-term follow-up (LTFU) assessment of participants from a randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive processing therapy (CPT) with prolonged exposure (PE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Competing hypotheses for positive outcomes (i.e., additional therapy, medication) were examined. Method: Intention-to-treat (ITT) participants were assessed 5-10 years after participating in the study (M = 6.15, SD = 1.22). We attempted to locate the 171 original participants, women with PTSD who had experienced at least one rape.

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In the best interest of the child? : a study into a decision-support tool validating asylum-seeking children's rights from a behavioural scientific perspective

In Art. 3(1) van het Internationaal Verdrag voor de Rechten van het Kind is bepaald dat bij alle besluiten die het leven van kinderen raken, het ‘belang van het kind’ een eerste overweging dient te zijn. In dit onderzoek staat centraal hoe het ‘belang van het kind’ op methodische wijze tot uitdrukking kan worden gebracht ten behoeve van juridische besluitvormingsprocedures. Hiertoe is een instrument, genaamd de Best Interest of the Child - Questionnaire (BIC-Q), ontwikkeld en onderzocht op betrouwbaarheid en validiteit. De onderzoeksgroep bestaat uit asielzoekerskinderen.

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Integrated treatment: a conceptual framework for an evidence-based approach to the treatment of personality disorder

A framework is proposed for selecting and combining eclectic treatment methods and delivering them in a coordinated way. The framework has two components: (1). a system for conceptualizing personality disorder based on empirical knowledge about the structure, etiology, development, and stability of personality pathology to use as a guide to selecting interventions and planning the sequence in which they will be used, and (2), a model of therapeutic change based on the general literature on psychotherapy outcome and specific studies of PD treatments.

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Israeli School and Community Response to War Trauma

This article presents a review of literature focusing on mental health clinicians who have responded to war trauma in their work with children in Israeli schools. The review provides a brief introduction to the country's war history and inception of school psychological and counselling services. Within this framework, results of empirical research, methods of assessment and multisystemic interventions are reviewed. Research results acknowledge the school as a major source of social support and facilitator of recovery.

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Impact of childhood life events and trauma on the course of depressive and anxiety disorders

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.

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Impact of evidence-based standardized assessment on the disability clinical interview for diagnosis of service-connected PTSD: a cluster-randomized trial

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.

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Hope as a change mechanism in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

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.

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Healing Touch With Guided Imagery for PTSD in Returning Active Duty Military: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains a significant problem in returning military and warrants swift and effective treatment. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether a complementary medicine intervention (Healing Touch with Guided Imagery [HT+GI]) reduced PTSD symptoms as compared to treatment as usual (TAU) returning combat-exposed active duty military with significant PTSD symptoms. Active duty military (n = 123) were randomized to 6 sessions (within 3 weeks) of HT+GI vs. TAU.

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Health in fragile and post-conflict states: a review of current understanding and challenges ahead

Health systems face enormous challenges in fragile and post-conflict states. This paper will review recent literature to better understand how, within a context of economic volatility, political instability, infrastructural collapse and human resource scarcity, population health deteriorates and requires significant attention and resources to rebuild.

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