A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, has been gaining attention recently as its prevalence among military personnel becomes more widely known, but this mental health concern is certainly not limited to men and women in the armed forces. Able to effect people of all ages in many different situations, the issue is often addressed with psychotherapy or medications, or some combination therein, but more effective treatments are actively being sought. In a newly-published study, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have investigated the brain’s responses to unexpected and unpleasant audio stimuli, mapping how people react to events and how anticipation plays a role in these reactions. The researchers found that emotional responses were far stronger when events were unexpected, and hope to be able to use this information to help shed light on the specific etiology of PTSD.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Pleasant Hill Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By John Lee, LMHC, Post Traumatic Stress / Trauma Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact John and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

Peter Strong, PhD. is an expert in the treatment of PTSD. His theory in the treatment of PTSD is “The key to changing habitual reactivity is to learn how to relate to the underlying emotional energy that compels you to react.” Peter also bases his practice near Boulder, Colorado on using core mindfulness in the treatment of PTSD.

Interestingly, Peter Strong PhD. and this writer make use of the mindfulness treatment strategy. For many years while treating people with schizophrenia I taught core mindfulness as part of my group therapy. Surprisingly, many who practiced learned to tune out the voices they were hearing. The first step what leads up to the reaction of hearing voices? And what many have said they have done. One popular technique many began to practice was using the self talk “Stop, This isn’t me, This is My Illness.” For a few this began to really work, and then the few who really applied it were ready to take it a step further. What I taught them next was the brain receives its information was through their five senses. What one saw, felt, heard smelled sometimes could trigger a reaction. Interestingly, this small group really got into this as they were realizing and experiencing saying “Stop, this isn’t me” seemed to help. I then would take them for a walk to get into the moment. By totally focusing on the experience of what the rose smelled like, what the trees looked like, what the chirping of the birds sounded like, and what the lemonade tasted like, people with schizophrenia began to experience the voices weren’t as loud. That by focusing on the experience of the moment they were also slowly training their minds new habits which could lead to tuning down the volume of the voices. Continuing to practice focusing on the wind against their chin and hearing the birds they slowly began to experience when they would even talk to another person their voices would become softer and not as noticeable. By learning to turn down the voices by practicing in the moment techniques, many began to stay out of the inpatient unit. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

The topic of mental health among returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been hotly contested of late, especially in the wake of reports of growing suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD rates in military personnel. Adding weight to the argument for more extensive, accessible, and meaningful mental health measures, the recent attack at the Ft. Hood army base has re-sparked discussions about a lack of thorough screening and understanding within the military community. After attending the memorial service for victims of the Ft. Hood shootings on Tuesday,the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, four-star general Eric Shinseki, appeared on “The Early Show” Wednesday to talk about the incident and the Department’s plans for mental health going forward.

Though mental health advocates and medical professionals, as well as caregivers and family members of returning veterans may have been anticipating a clear description of plans for future improvements, Shinseki’s statements were relatively general. The VA Director noted that over nineteen thousand mental health professionals were employed in the service of the Department, and that work was being “diligently” carried out in order to provide an increased level of care to service members in need. Expressing grave concern and regret over the Ft. Hood incident, Shinseki was reported to convey deep concern over the role of mental health in overall personnel well-being, but beyond the implementation of a post-September 11th G.I. bill, there was little to indicate any specific plans for the future. Read the rest of this entry

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Chicago Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Susanne M. Dillmann, Psy.D., Post Traumatic Stress / Trauma Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Susanne and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Many individuals who have survived a traumatic life event wish to simply forget about the experience and hope that forgetting will be synonymous with overcoming. However, it is not possible to erase out pivotal life experiences or to truly forget about them. The human mind, body and/or soul remember and clamor for healing. Healing from the wounds inflicted by a traumatic experience takes time, perseverance and faith – faith that one will heal, that life will not always be so painful and that the trauma will not always define one’s sense of self.

So if one cannot forget away a traumatic experience then how does one heal? The process or act of growing through a traumatic event can be divided into three quasi-linear stages or phases (please see the work of Judith Herman, M.D. for a detailed discussion of the phases of healing). People move through each one of these stages in their healing journey. The pace at which people grow through the phases varies. Overall, an individual will journey through the phases in a progressive manner even though at any point in time someone may be moving back and forth between the three stages. This re-visiting of past phases is not backwards movement but rather an integral part of the healing process. This article will focus on the first phase of healing, which has the central theme of establishing safety. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

In any capacity, being a member of the armed services is associated with daily exposure to a great deal of stress and strain. Whether deployed in the field and engaged in active warfare or confined to a base and living through the realities of military life, the experience of being a soldier or other type of military asset can be a harrowing one. Recently, many stories have come to the surface surrounding the instances of PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, that is evident among army troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With alarmingly high rates of this often debilitating mental health concern along with increased rates of suicide, the military and Department of Defense have been focusing their attention, as well as their funding, on addressing better measures to help screen for signs of mental health difficulties among soldiers, and to intervene as necessary to prevent not only a loss of quality of life, but of potentially dangerous incidents as well. Unfortunately, new measures towards this end have not come fast enough for a group of army personnel working out of Fort Hood, in Texas. Read the rest of this entry

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Santa Monica Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Beth S. Patterson, MA, LPC, Grief & Loss Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Beth and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

The intense and painful experiences of grief are generally considered “normal.” However, when those experiences are extremely distressing, unduly interfere with day-to-day functioning or do not subside to a manageable level over time, the bereaved may be experiencing complicated or traumatic grief. Complicated grief has been proposed as a new diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and suggested components of the diagnosis include (1) that sufferers experience bereavement by death; (2) that their reactions include intrusive and distressing symptoms, including yearning, longing and searching for the deceased; and (3) that the bereaved exhibit at least four marked and persistent trauma reactions, which may include: “avoidance of reminders of the deceased, purposelessness, feelings of futility, difficulty imagining a life without the deceased, numbness, detachment, feeling stunned, dazed or shocked, feeling that life is empty or meaningless, feeling a part of oneself has died, disbelief, excessive anger or bitterness related to the death, and identification symptoms or harmful behaviors resembling those suffered by the deceased” (Mitchell et al, 2004, p. 13).

Even in cases that do not fit the criteria for complicated grief as described above, the events surrounding the death may be sufficiently traumatic to interfere with daily functioning or result in unrelenting distress. As a psychotherapist specializing in grief and loss, I have found EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to be an effective tool for alleviating trauma in grief. As in grief, trauma affects the whole person — body, mind and spirit, and on a hierarchy of needs, trauma must be dealt with in order for the healing process of grief to proceed in a healthy, and healing, fashion. Read the rest of this entry

By John Lee, LMHC, Post Traumatic Stress / Trauma Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact John and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

**GoodTherapy.org Disclaimer: This article contains sensitive material that may trigger strong reactions for some readers, especially those with a history of trauma.**

A personal introduction from a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and survivor of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

In the past, I would have been unable to share this story of my loss of innocence. Only recently, I have broken through the silence of shame and feel very comfortable in sharing. My motive is to help others who are also living in shame and are having devastating and paralyzing symptoms of PTSD! Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

The high stress and potentially traumatic conditions of war are well known by those who have experienced its difficulties, and sometimes the ability to overcome various images and experiences gained in wartime is a challenge to retain; many of those who have seen action develop symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Rates of PTSD among returning veterans deployed multiple times in the Iraq war have been noted as exceptionally high, but a new study performed at the Naval Postgraduate Institute and Stanford University suggests the rate will be higher than previously expected, at around 35% of those returning. The data may be useful for Veteran Affair and government offices as they prepare to help rehabilitate returning military personnel.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Chapel Hill Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Typically, studies examining the precise functioning of the brain are lengthy and expensive, given the need to use advanced MRI equipment and recruit patient participants. But a student at the University of Missouri is proving that such studies can extract meaningful data from computational models, making research both easier and more affordable. Computer and electrical engineering doctoral student Guoshi Li has been using computational models to study the functioning of fear within the brain, and has found that fearful memories are still dormant after the emotional response has been disassociated from a stimulus. It is hoped that Li’s research, still in progress, might help shed light on more effective treatment for those with post traumatic stress disorder.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Minneapolis Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Lissa Hunsicker, LCSW

Click here to contact Lissa and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

When a child gets killed, it gets our attention. Consider the words of Nicholas Scopetta, former Executive Director of The Administration of Children’s Services: “people may not understand the intricacies of the system, but they certainly know when a child is killed.”

It’s true. We put down our coffee cup, lift our heads from the paper, take pause in our morning commute. With friends and co-workers, we debate (institutional reform vs. personal responsibility); at home, we reconsider our practice of discipline; in our minds, for the briefest of moments, we become aware of the horror of losing a child and we are enraged. But in time—in a week or two—we move on. As we have to. Read the rest of this entry