FGM/C a taboo subject, one for psychologists to be aware of. If you are a psychologist working with migrant and refugee populations FGM can be an issue. What is FGM FGM also called (FGM/C) the acronym stands for female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a procedure that harms or alters the
The World Health Organisation reports (2016) that trauma is experienced by 70% of the global population and the international lifetime prevalence of PTSD is up to 5.6% among the trauma exposed. The data from these reports comes from World Mental Health Surveys, which are a series of general population studies
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), like many therapies for mental health disorders, has been developed and disseminated in western or first world countries. Will it work for people who are not from these backgrounds? This is an important question considering that at the end of 2019, more than 79 million people
What is dissociation? Dissociation is a detachment from reality, it is a mental process where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity. This is different to psychosis, which is a loss of reality or an experience of a delusional reality. You can find more in
Words matter because clarity in words is a part of clarity in thinking, and because some words carry great emotional and symbolic weight, and thus should be not used lightly.” —Jeffrie G. Murphy When is Trauma? Traumatic events are distressing, but not all distressing events should be thought of as
There is a lot of publicity about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. But does it work for PTSD. Kearney and colleagues (2021) conducted a randomized clinical trial with 184 veterans with PTSD. They were assigned to group loving-kindness meditation or group cognitive processing therapy (CPT). The aim of the
Can you still treat someone with PTSD while they are drinking heavily? A common question from clinicians. Stefanie Lo Sovo and colleagues (2022) examined treating PTSD with CPT in heavy drinking military personnel. They examined the drinking and PTSD treatment outcomes for 127 service members participating in a clinical trial
Sex and Trauma Some trauma sufferers experience sexual arousal during a trauma. This can include: Many trauma survivors question these responses, sometimes concluding that it meant something about them, such as “I must have wanted it.” However physiological sexual response and desire for sex is not always connected. The technical
Artificial intelligence (AI) is in the news, and there is a lot of discussion. Some people are concerned about what it will mean. With headlines like “Meet ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chat bot that could take your job”. How worried does a trauma therapist need to be? We thought we
Do you ever remember being a child and being taken to an ice-cream shop with 66 flavours? Inevitably with so much choice you just walk out with the one you know, vanilla or chocolate. Monitoring your clients progress during trauma therapy is a great way to ensure good overall outcomes.