ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre

There are few medications with demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of posttraumatic stressdisorder (PTSD). Treatment guidelines have unequivocally designated psychotherapy as a first line treatment for PTSD. Yet, even after psychotherapy, PTSD often remains a chronic illness, with high rates of psychiatric and medical comorbidity. Meanwhile, the search and development of drugs with new mechanisms of action has stalled. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore not just novel compounds, but novel approaches for the treatment of PTSD.

Objective: Involuntary job loss can lead to symptoms of complicated grief (CG), depression, and anxiety. Information about the temporal linkage between these symptoms is limited and may have implications for the treatment of those suffering from mental health complaints after dismissal. The aim of this study was to explore the possible reciprocal relationships between symptoms of CG, depression, and anxiety following involuntary job loss.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling psychiatric disorder that develops in approximately 10% of people exposed to trauma. As traumatic events are the point of reference for PTSD symptom onset, the first hours to weeks posttrauma provide opportunities for preventive interventions. In this article, we discuss current evidence on pharmacological preventive interventions for PTSD in adults. We conclude that there are no pharmacological preventive interventions that are ready for routine clinical practice.

Objective:

The disappearance of a loved one is claimed to be the most stressful type of loss. The present review explores the empirical evidence relating to this claim. Specifically, it summarizes studies exploring the prevalence and correlates of psychological symptoms in relatives of missing persons as well as studies comparing levels of psychopathology in relatives of the disappeared and the deceased.

Method:

Increased recognition that grief may turn into a disorder led to the inclusion of Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder (PCBD) in DSM-5 and Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) in ICD-11. Four additional criteria sets for disturbed grief have been proposed in recent years: Prigerson et al. proposed criteria for PGD (“PGD-2009″), Maercker et al. presented an ICD-11 beta draft version of PGD (“PGD-BD”), Shear et al. put forth criteria for complicated grief (“CG”), and, recently, criteria for PGD in DSM-5-TR have been proposed.

Background: Previous research has indicated that one out of ten naturally bereaved individuals develops prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Less is known about the prevalence of PGD following unnatural deaths, such as accidents, disasters, suicides, or homicides. The aim of this study was to compute the pooled prevalence of PGD and to determine possible causes of its varied estimates.

Background: Western countries are facing many challenges hosting refugees from several regions in the world. Many of them are severely traumatized and suffer from a variety of mental health symptoms, which complicates the identification and treatment of refugees at risk. This study examined subgroups based on a broad range of psychopathology, and several predictors, including trauma characteristics and gender.

Collective commemoration in response to war or disaster is widespread across time and cultures. It is assumed to support those affected by the disruptive event to cope with their experiences. However, the actual relationship between commemoration and mental health outcomes is complicated and evidence of healing effects remains elusive.

This paper reviews the military context of exposure to combat and deployment in Dutch soldiers. It does so by reviewing war victims and military psychiatry after WWII in the Netherlands, and describes Dutch deployments from the late 1970s to the present. ‘Who is the Dutch soldier’ is asked to articulate the mental load on the individual soldier before, during, and after deployment.

Introduction: Soldiers have a higher risk for developing psychiatric disorders that require treatment; often with antidepressants. However, antidepressants as well as the psychiatric disorder, may influence military readiness in several ways. In the general population, early discontinuation of antidepressant treatment is often seen. It is yet unknown whether this occurs to a similar extent in soldiers. The objective of this study was to evaluate discontinuation of antidepressant use by Dutch soldiers in the first 12 months after start and determinants thereof.