Early Psychological Intervention Summary

When humans undergo traumatic events that threaten their safety and wellbeing, they may become vulnerable to nightmares, fear, excessive anxiety, depression, and trembling. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological illness that results from the occurrence of a “terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise unsafe experience” (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 2012). This condition often leads to unbearable stress and anxiety. PTSD is significantly prevalent as indicated by data from the National Co-morbidity Survey which shows that at a particular time in their lives, 7.8% of 5, 877 adults in America suffered from PTSD (Andrew & Bisson, 2009). In the general population, the lifetime prevalence is estimated at 8%,

Spitalnick, Josh. Difede, JoAnn. Rizzo, Albert. O. Rothbaum, Barbara. “Emerging treatments for PTSD” Clinical Psychology Review, Volume 29, Issue 8, December 2009, Pages 715-726, ISSN 0272-7358, Web. 21 April 2016

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder is possible. The current treatment of PTSD encompasses several types of psychotherapy combined with a medication regimen. Cognitive therapy is one type of therapy used to combat PTSD. The goal of cognitive therapy is to allow the patient to slowly experience feelings, thoughts, and events associated with the trauma in a controlled setting. This allows the PTSD sufferer, to categorize the traumatic feelings associated with the event and assign a more positive meaning to them. Thus providing a coping mechanism. Another school of thought places the therapeutic focus on gradually exposing the PTSD sufferer to elements of the trauma. The goal is to desensitize the patient to the traumatic event. This allows the patient to resume a normal life. One other form of therapy used in treatment of PTSD is EMDR. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a form of exposure therapy that places the emphasis on guided eye movements. The theory is that the movements help retrain how the brain reacts to memories of the traumatic event. Success has

In the United States (US) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 8 out of every 100 persons (United States Department of Veterans Affairs [USDVA], 2015). In which account for about 8 million people that include the military veterans (USDVA, 2015). About 10% of women and 4% of men will develop PTSD during some course of their lives (USDVA, 2015). Veterans are more susceptible to PTSD due to longer exposures to trauma, danger, or witness a violent life threaten incidence during their military service periods (USDVA, 2015). The development of PTSD becomes chronic after no longer seeing or under the “fight-or-flight“ experiences causing a psychological and/ or mental breakdown (National Institutes of Health [NIH], n.d). Such

Evidence points to CPT’s efficacy as a psychological treatment for PTSD and has demonstrated potential to decrease symptoms of depression and guilt. Although more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of CPT with various populations, both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are recommending CPT as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. A major benefit of CPT the gains are noticeable in a very short period. The rapid response to treatment is particularly important to military and active-duty populations for whom time may be limited (Keane TM, Marshall AD, Taft

The patients generally come to the clinical settings when secondary stage psychological problems surface. Therefore, early detection of symptoms and impactful intervention is the key to effective management of PTSD [27].

This annotated bibliography looked at 6 different journal articles on the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) versus other methods and variations of CBT. Historically speaking, it is common knowledge in the field of psychology for CBT to have a 50% success rate for patients with PTSD in that it either works or it doesn’t work, which is traceable to the patients commitment to the therapy. These articles review abstract ideas that have been ventured upon by researchers to corroborate the preconceived notions of CBT and PTSD and find a

Exposure and cognitive restructuring are thought to be the most effective components. Exposure-based treatments involve having survivors repeatedly re-experience their traumatic event. There is strong evidence for exposure therapy, one of which being Prolonged Exposure (PE). PE includes both imaginal exposure and in vivo exposure to safe situations that have been avoided because they remind the person of the traumatic event. Cognitive Processing Therapy has a primary focus on challenging and modifying maladaptive beliefs related to the trauma, but also includes a written exposure component. Veterans with chronic military-related PTSD who received CPT showed better improvements in PTSD. EMDR is recommended in most practice guidelines. Patients receiving EMDR engage in imaginal exposure to a trauma while simultaneously performing saccadic eye movements. Overall, these therapy treatments are considered first-line treatments for PTSD and have strong evidence bases and effective

The foremost disease category in the US is neuropsychiatric disorders, with 25% of citizens 18 years and older suffering from a diagnosable mental illness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2010). These mental disorders are broken into 5 axes and 17 DSM groups by the DSM-IV and include groupings such as developmental disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, mood disorders, etc. (American Psychological Association, 2013). Within the spectrum of mental disorders lies the anxiety disorder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD develops following exposure to a frightening event or situation in which there was a great risk of severe harm (NIMH, 2016). These events are exceedingly broad, but most often include accidents, natural disasters, violent assaults, and military combat. Currently, 70% of US adults have experienced a traumatic event, with an estimated 20% going on to develop PTSD (PTSD United, 2013). While these statistics are very much concerning, the prevalence of PTSD in current and past military personnel is found to be greater because of an increased inability to navigate through the social and structural pressures of society after returning home.

The difference in effectiveness between trauma -focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) were identified in this article. The identified outcome is stipulated as post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The study found a lack of significant difference between the two modalities. The mean difference was 0.69. The study’s outcome prorvided results that both TF-CBT and EMDR yielded decreased symptoms. The article notes the importance of children obtaining therapeutic services to reduce PTSS. Additionally, dropout rates and lack of symptom reduction in TF-CBT affords an alternative of implementing EMDR as a secondary modality. Although it appears TF-CBT has an array of research

The use of several therapeutic methods to treat children with PTSD increases the argument among clinicians about the most effective treatment for PTSD. The clinical literature describes a wide variety of interventions besides CBT including, psychoanalytic techniques, creative arts, play therapy, crisis intervention, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and pharmacotherapy; which raises the question about what could be the most effective treatment for children with PTSD (Cohen, Mannarino & Rogal 2001). Several of these therapies have been recognized as effective PTSD treatments. For instance, Eye-Movement Desensitization and Processing (EMDR), has become an increasingly accepted treatment modality for childhood PTSD; however, very

Due to Matt’s diagnosis of PTSD and depression symptoms, it was imperative to utilize an approach that if possible, could decrease all symptomology. Empirically, research shows that with the successful treatment of PTSD, comorbid symptoms of depression and anxiety are also greatly reduced (Blachard et al., 2003; National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK, 2005). Thus so it seemed utilizing an empirically supported treatment for PTSD will assist in decreasing Matt’s depression PTSD symptomatology.

People with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develop their disorder by experiencing traumatic events that can cause an emotional, physical and mental change. “One day [soldiers are] in a brutal fight in Afghanistan, where they saw carnage, death, and three days later they found themselves toting an ice chest at their kid’s soccer game” (Garcia). As described by Hector Garcia this process can only be described as a “mindfuck.” The current treatment processes like having a therapy dog and joining support groups, although unintentional, manage symptoms rather than cure PTSD. PTSD for a long time has been viewed as only a condition that could be managed, not cured. This issue elicits the question, how can PTSD be successfully treated? The

In the article written by Graca, Palmer, & Occhietti, the primary objective of research is to determine the efficacy of a combination of psychotherapeutic techniques such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), and/or trauma group exposure (TGE) therapy to treat PTSD. By organizing the best combination of psychotherapeutic techniques, practitioners are able to formulate a therapy technique best suited for veterans with PTSD. This article will especially be helpful in my research focused on the effective treatment for veterans with PTSD. Because there are so many different types of therapy techniques for PTSD patients, perhaps combining techniques will yield better results than utilizing

Traumatic experiences are common in our society and can be caused by a range of events such as, combat related trauma, domestic abuse, or rape. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), delayed treatment, biofeedback-assisted relaxation and prescription drugs are only a few of the theorized treatments for PTSD. EMDR is a treatment where the client is asked to think about an image from the trauma and while doing so they are instructed to move their eyes quickly from side to side, following the therapists fingers for about 15 to 10 seconds. Sessions such as these continue until desensitization of the trauma is complete and positive self-cognition has replaced previous negative self-cognition. The client then describes the thoughts,