The Impact Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The diagnosis of PTSD requires one or more symptoms from three main categories. The first category is re-experiencing the event. This can include reliving the event through nightmares, upsetting thoughts, flashbacks, or anything that can remind the person of the traumatic event, making them have physical and mental reactions ("Post-traumatic Stress," 2014). Next, the second category is avoidance. The individual will avoid thoughts, activities, or conversations that can remind them of the traumatic event. The third stage to diagnose PTSD is increased arousal in your life including, a loss of interest in important things you need such as decreased sleep and being unable to concentrate in your day to day life ("Post-traumatic Stress," 2014). Major depression, substance abuse, and panic can also correlate with PTSD. This diagnosis requires these symptoms to be bad enough to interfere with your daily life and last at least a month.

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

Victor Monjaraz, a former Marine, says that he felt he could handle PTSD on his own, but his emotions did not allow him to. His wife had to convince him to visit a psychologist at the VA and see what the doctor had to say. Monjaraz already felt that he had PTSD before the visit. He was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Monjaraz experienced night terrors and road rage. He was easily irritated and could not be in crowded spaces. The disease also took a toll on his marriage and says, “The Marines taught me to turn off my emotions but didn’t teach me how to turn them back on” (Monjaraz).

PTSD takes many forms and arise immediately after the experience or even decades later” according to goodtherapy.org, a website about therapeutic treatments.

According to (Rosenheck and Fontana) "Recent trends in VA treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders” Claim that treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The number of Persian Gulf–era veterans diagnosed with PTSD grew by 8,000 veterans per year from 2003 to 2005. Since 1997, however, the median annual increment in all users of VA specialty mental health services has averaged 37,000 veterans per year, including 22,000 per year with PTSD (14). This expansion was associated with a 37 percent reduction in mental health visits per year. The VA has substantially increased financial support for PTSD

A study was conducted by Monson et al. (2006) to assess the effects of (CPT) Cognitive Processing Therapy on military veterans who were suffering from PTSD. The study included sixty participants with prolonged combat-related PTSD who partook in a wait-listed controlled experiment of a CPT treatment. More than sixteen percent of the participants dropped out of the study from the original ninety-three participants who were authorized to receive treatment. Out of the sixty participants that remained the group was equally split into two groups of thirty clients (Wait Group vs. Immediate Group). The Wait Group waited for a period of ten weeks before receiving the CPT treatment, whereas the immediate group received treatment immediately. The treatment was provided twice a week and consisted of twelve CPT sessions. The results revealed overall that there were significant improvements in PTSD and comorbid symptoms in the Immediate Group in comparison to the Wait Group. The study not only revealed the importance of immediacy in treating veterans with PTSD but supports the use of cognitive–behavioral treatments in this population as well (Monson et al.,

According to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (2014), there are currently an estimated 19.4 million veterans, of which 1.6 million are women. Eight percent of the US population has served in the US military and 33% of the US population is directly related to someone who has served (Meyer, Writer, & Brim, 2016). Many returning service members face complex mental and behavioral health challenges in readjusting to life after deployment (American Psychological Association [APA], 2016a). Data indicate that one-third of returning Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) service members have reported symptoms of mental-health or cognitive problems (APA, 2016a). This includes concerns of suicidal ideation, posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, adjustment disorders, substance use disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders, among others. As OEF and OIF deployed service members continue to return home with high rates of mental health disorders, there are concerns regarding the availability and adequacy of mental health

PTSD is post traumatic stress disorder, a very common mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event, affecting three million adults and childrens of varied ages a year, although it can not be cured, there are forms of treatment available to help with the symptoms. PTSD is not a new diagnoses, it used to be called “Shell Shock” or “Battle Fatigue”. After a trauma has occurred in someone 's life it is normal to have some type of reaction to the event, however if the symptoms get worse over time PTSD is more likely to develop. Symptoms often have triggers that bring back past memories that can cause very intense physical and emotional reactions, along with other problems that may inhibit some parts of their life including their personal life with family, work or how they may think. PTSD is not a sickness or a disease, but a result of being exposed to something that was very traumatic and the bodies way of trying to cope.

PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a disorder that develops after experiencing a traumatic event(s) or witnessing a traumatic event(s). For example war, natural disasters, rape, abuse, and neglect. Its symptoms include having unwanted thoughts or nightmares, feel like you’re reliving it, flashbacks, emotional/physical response to reminders, avoidance of reminders/thoughts, inability to recall certain features, distorted beliefs/blaming of self and others, diminished interest, detachment, hypervigilance, sleep problems, and even dissociative symptoms. In addition, these symptoms must last for more than one month, you must wait 6 months after the event before you can be diagnosed even if onset of symptoms occur immediately, and must not

A little background: PTSD is a psychological disorder formed from traumatic experiences that involves physical harm or the threat of physical harm that make the person feel stressed or frightened when they are no longer in danger. Signs and symptoms of PTSD can be grouped into three categories: Re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyper arousal symptoms . The main treatment for this is psychotherapy or

I will be collaborating with The National Institute of Mental Health for the funding of the research project. The research will attempt to identify what factors determine whether someone with PTSD will respond well to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) intervention, aiming to develop more personalized, effective and efficient treatments. The mission of this project is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure (National Institutes of Health, 2013).

In 2004 Operation Iraqi Freedom became the deadliest American military conflict since the Vietnam War. Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and Vietnam have brought heightened awareness of military related PTSD, as well as the relationship and family problems that accompany the disorder. Studies have shown that 11% - 20% of Veterans that served in Iraq and 6% - 11% of veterans that were deployed to Afghanistan have suffered from PTSD. Veterans of operation Desert Storm suffer at a rate of about 10% and Vietnam veteran estimates have been as high as 30% – 50%.

Military service members who are and have been deployed to the middle east show high levels of emotional distress and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both active duty and reserve component soldiers who have experienced combat have been exposed to high levels of traumatic stress. As a consequence, many have gone on to develop a wide range of mental health problems such as PTSD. “According to researchers, PTSD is a long-term reaction to war-zone exposure that can last up to a few minutes, hours, several weeks, and for some a lifetime.” Common symptoms include: emotional numbing, anxiety, feelings of guilt, and depression. If the disorder turns chronic veterans may experience functional impairment (Friedman, M. J. et al., 1994, p.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans has been prevalent in the United States ever since the diagnosis of shell shock after World War I. PTSD continues to be prevalent in veterans from the Vietnam War, to the Gulf War, to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among veterans during the Vietnam era was 30.9% for men and 26.9% for women (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). Based on a population study the prevalence of PTSD among previously deployed Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom was 13.8% (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). PTSD in combat veterans can be very difficult to understand. This is widely due to the lack of research

Individuals with PTSD persistently re-experience their traumatic event in their thoughts, perceptions, imagery, dreams, illusions, hallucinations, and flashbacks. They may experience intense physiological distress or reactivity to cues of the traumatic event. These individuals persistently avoid any stimuli associated with the traumatic event and use other mechanisms to cope with any situation or cue that recalls or contradicts their emotional or cognitive responses to the traumatic event (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV-TR], 2000). Individuals with PTSD also experience persistent symptoms of increased arousal, such as irritability and difficulty concentrating. These disturbances can cause significant distress in social life, the work place, and family systems. According to the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV-TR), in order for individuals to be diagnosed with PTSD they must experience disturbances and symptoms for more than one month (2000). Symptoms can be specified as acute (less than 3 months), chronic (3 months or more), or with delayed onset; in which onset starts 6 months after the actual stressor (DSM-IV-TR, 2000).