The current bushfire emergency may be a reminder for those who have been through a traumatic event. For some survivors this can mean an increase in stress and reactions ranging from feeling mildly upset for a day or two to more extreme reactions with more severe symptoms. This can be
As we witness the fires that are raging across Australia, our response to the emotional experience of others horror, fear, hopelessness, despair and misery is strong. However, now is not the only time to focus on the experience of others. Mental health professionals need to keep the emotional experience of
Most of us have had clients who have been sick while attempting to undergo therapy. When client’s have a diagnosis of PTSD the research supports that it is the PTSD that is associated with immune system problems. Two large studies that have been published in 2019 highlight this. In their
Cannabis use for the treatment of PTSD is in the news across the globe ( Australia, U.S., Canada, and the U.K. ) with the publication of a study in Canada by Lake, and associates (2019). They stated ” there is preliminary evidence that cannabis use may contribute to reducing the
Recent results (October 2019) from a U.S. National Sample of 36,309 non-institutionalized U.S. civilians found that subthreshold PTSD and full PTSD were associated with binge eating symptoms in both men and women. This association was independent of other mental health conditions. The authors also outlined that negative cognitions and mood
If you are wondering what it is like to participate in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) there is a great podcast by a journalist who suffered a sexaul assault as a teenager. She described the experience of CPT, session by session. Although her experience is of a single trauma the research
Many sufferers of PTSD don’t think that it is happening to them, because they don’t fit what they understand to be the PTSD demographic, “I thought PTSD was something only soldiers got.” However, PTSD can affect many people exposed to traumatic circumstances. Righy et. al. (2019) conducted a systematic review
As previously discussed on this blog the concept of vicarious traumatisation has over time gone from a framework to a disorder, diagnosis and an inevitable outcome of working with traumatised clients. Halevi and Idisis (2018) have examined personal factors related to vicarious traumatization. It seems these are important. Halevi and
Common sense (of the clinical variety) tells us that a strong therapeutic alliance predicts better outcomes. The research indicates this is true in PTSD treatment (Keller, et. al.2010). Some therapist worry that discussing trauma undermines therapeutic alliance and leads to poor engagement in treatment. Chen, et al (2019) compared therapeutic alliance
The evidence base for very short-term, intensive treatment for PTSD is growing. Investigators from the U.S. National Center for Veterans Studies conducted an open trial of 2 weeks of daily CPT supplemented with recreation and psychoeducational sleep classes. Military Servicemembers and Veterans with PTSD or subthreshold PTSD (N = 20) engaged in 12 sessions of
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