ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with an increase in mortality rates globally. Given the high numbers of deaths and the potentially traumatic characteristics of COVID-19 deaths, it was expected that grief-related distress would be higher in COVID-19 bereaved (compared to non-COVID-19 bereaved) people. This systematic review investigates the empirical evidence regarding this claim.

Background: The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has led to millions of forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) within Ukraine and other European countries. Due to war-related exposure and displacement adversities, this group is at significant risk of developing depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health problems. Systemic barriers, including insufficiently equipped mental health systems and language barriers, prevent FDPs from receiving adequate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

Objective: Sudden gains describe large and stable reductions in symptoms between two consecutive treatment sessions and have not yet been investigated in prolonged grief disorder (PGD),  a new disorder in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases and text revision of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders characterized by separation distress and accompanying symptoms beyond 6 months of bereavement.

Following the death of a loved one, both approach behaviors related to the deceased (i.e., engagement with feelings, memories, and/or reminders of the deceased) and the avoidance of reminders of the death are theorized to precipitate severe and persistent grief reactions, termed prolonged grief. The “approach-avoidance processing hypothesis” holds that these behavioral tendencies occur simultaneously in prolonged grief disorder (PGD). We tested this hypothesis using a novel free-viewing attention task.

Objective
To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS).

Methods
The scale was tested on two Internet-based samples: GPS-CCC (n = 657) and GPS-Brazil (n = 431). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on GPS-CCC. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), correlational analysis and sensitivity and specificity analysis were performed on the GPS-Brazil sample.

Introduction: Information regarding the prevalence of potentially traumatic events (PTEs), DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and ICD-11 complex PTSD (CPTSD) in the Netherlands is currently lacking, as is data on treatment uptake and treatment barriers. We aimed to provide prevalence estimates for potentially traumatic events, PTSD and CPTSD in the Netherlands, describe treatment seeking behavior and explore associated risk factors.

Objective: In their work, police officers are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic events, some of which may also be morally distressing. Moral injury refers to the multidimensional impact of exposure to such potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). Mainly originating from a military context, there is little empirical research on moral injury in policing. The aim of this study was to gain insight into what PMIEs and moral injury in police officers entail.

An increasing number of studies have been investigating the co-occurrence of posttraumatic symptoms and dissociation in trauma-exposed samples. As traumatized refugees are particularly susceptible to developing posttraumatic stress  disorder (PTSD), the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between PTSD and dissociation in a traumatized refugee sample. 

There is an increasing need for mental health care to adapt assessment and treatment to cultural and social variety of populations. If cultural factors are not properly assessed, patients may receive an incorrect diagnosis, or the severity of their condition may be misjudged (1). Further, a lack of clinicians’ cultural sensitivity can create communication barriers leading to a patient’s breakdown of trust in the therapeutic process and a hesitancy to communicate important information (2).

COVID-19 may pose a mental health risk to funeral service workers (FSWs). In this cross-sectional survey, 278 Dutch FSWs were assessed three months after the acute phase of the pandemic ended. The FSWs reported on burnout symptoms (BAT-12), work engagement (UWES-9), wellbeing (MHC-SF) mental health indicators, and retrospectively on work stress and perceived support during the acute phase of the pandemic. Data-analyses included descriptive statistics and linear regression. Mental health scores were compared with norm scores.