Mobile assessment of heightened skin conductance in posttraumatic stress disorder

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137606/1/da22610.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137606/2/da22610_am.pd

Treating PTSD: A Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, often debilitating mental health disorder that may develop after a traumatic life event. Fortunately, effective psychological treatments for PTSD exist. In 2017, the Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense (VA/DoD) and the American Psychological Association (APA) each published treatment guidelines for PTSD, which are a set of recommendations for providers who treat individuals with PTSD. The purpose of the current review article is to briefly review the methodology used in each set of 2017 guidelines and then discuss the psychological treatments of PTSD for adults that were strongly recommended by both sets of guidelines. Both guidelines strongly recommended use of Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Each of these treatments has a large evidence base and is trauma-focused, which means they directly address memories of the traumatic event or thoughts and feelings related to the traumatic event. Finally, we will discuss implications and future directions

Feasibility of Identifying Eligible Trauma Patients for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Intervention

Objective: This research report examines the feasibility of identifying eligible trauma patients for a study providing an early therapeutic intervention for the prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and identifies reasons around participation.Methods: This prospective observational study used a convenience sample of acute trauma victims presenting to a university-affiliated Level One trauma center in a large southeastern city. Patients eligible to participate in the early intervention study were adults (18- 65) who experienced a traumatic event within 72 hours of presentation, feared that they might be killed or seriously injured during the event, and were able to return for follow up appointments. Patients were excluded if they were non-English speaking; experienced a loss of consciousness greater than 5 minutes; had a history of a serious mental illness or were currently suicidal; or endorsed current substance dependence. Descriptive statistics were conducted to determine differences in ineligible, eligible, and consenting trauma patients who enrolled in the intervention study.Results: Over a six month period, n =1961 patients presented for treatment of a traumatic injury during study hours. Results showed that eligible patients were significantly younger than ineligible patients. Survivors of assaults (physical and sexual), younger patients, and women were generally more likely to participate in a study offering a psychological intervention in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event.Conclusion: Fourteen percent of trauma patients were eligible and entered a study offering an early psychological intervention for the prevention of PTSD. Trauma type, age and gender may play a role in determining preference for receiving psychological services immediately after experiencing a traumatic event. [West J Emerg Med. 2010; 11(3): 275-279.

Primum Non Nocere (First Do No Harm): Symptom Worsening And Improvement In Female Assault Victims After Prolonged Exposure For Ptsd

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106816/1/da22225.pd

Biological And Symptom Changes In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110764/1/da22331.pd

DBT-enhanced cognitive-behavioral treatment for trichotillomania: A randomized controlled trial

Background and aims: Limited treatment options are available for trichotillomania (TTM) and most have modest outcomes. Suboptimal treatment results may be due to the failure of existing approaches to address all TTM styles. Methods: Thirty-eight DSM-IV TTM participants were randomly assigned across two study sites to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) -enhanced cognitive-behavioral treatment (consisting of an 11-week acute treatment and 3-month maintenance treatment) or a minimal attention control (MAC) condition. MAC participants had active treatment after the 11-week control condition. Follow-up study assessments were conducted three and six months after the maintenance period. Results: Open trial treatment resulted in significant improvement in TTM severity, emotion regulation (ER) capacity, experiential avoidance, anxiety and depression with changes generally maintained over time. In the randomized controlled trial, those with active treatment had greater improvement than those in the MAC condition for both TTM severity and ER capacity. Correlations between changes in TTM severity and ER capacity were not reported at post-treatment but did occur in maintenance and follow-up indicating reduced TTM severity with improved ER capacity. Conclusions: DBT-enhanced cognitive-behavioral treatment is a promising treatment for TTM. Future studies should compare this approach to other credible treatment interventions and investigate the efficacy of this approach in more naturalistic samples with greater comorbidity

Modified prolonged exposure therapy as Early Intervention after Rape (The EIR-study): study protocol for a multicenter randomized add-on superiority trial

Background Sexual assault and rape are the traumatic life events with the highest probability for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can have devastating consequences for those aficted by the condition. Studies indicate that modifed prolonged exposure (mPE) therapy may be efective in preventing the development of PTSD in recently traumatized individuals, and especially for people who have experienced sexual assault. If a brief, manualized early intervention can prevent or reduce post-traumatic symptoms in women who have recently experienced rape, healthcare services targeted for these populations (i.e., sexual assault centers, SACs) should consider implementing such interventions as part of routine care. Methods/design This is a multicenter randomized controlled add-on superiority trial that enrolls patients attending sexual assault centers within 72 h after rape or attempted rape. The objective is to assess whether mPE shortly after rape can prevent the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Patients will be randomized to either mPE plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone. The primary outcome is the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms 3 months after trauma. Secondary outcomes will be symptoms of depression, sleep difculties, pelvic foor hyperactivity, and sexual dysfunction. The frst 22 subjects will constitute an internal pilot trial to test acceptance of the intervention and feasibility of the assessment battery. Discussion This study will guide further research and clinical initiatives for implementing strategies for preventing post-traumatic stress symptoms after rape and provide new knowledge about which women may beneft the most from such initiatives and for revising existing treatment guidelines within this area

The clinical characterization of the adult patient with an anxiety or related disorder aimed at personalization of management

The clinical construct of “anxiety neurosis” was broad and poorly defined, so that the delineation of specific anxiety disorders in the DSM‐III was an important advance. However, anxiety and related disorders are not only frequently comorbid, but each is also quite heterogeneous; thus diagnostic manuals provide only a first step towards formulating a management plan, and the development of additional decision support tools for the treatment of anxiety conditions is needed. This paper aims to describe systematically important domains that are relevant to the personalization of management of anxiety and related disorders in adults. For each domain, we summarize the available research evidence and review the relevant assessment instruments, paying special attention to their suitability for use in routine clinical practice. We emphasize areas where the available evidence allows the clinician to personalize the management of anxiety conditions, and we point out key unmet needs. Overall, the evidence suggests that we are becoming able to move from simply recommending that anxiety and related disorders be treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, cognitive‐behavioral therapy, or their combination, to a more complex approach which emphasizes that the clinician has a broadening array of management modalities available, and that the treatment of anxiety and related disorders can already be personalized in a number of important respects

Versatility of Fear-Potentiated Startle Paradigms for Assessing Human Conditioned Fear Extinction and Return of Fear

Fear conditioning methodologies have often been employed as testable models for assessing learned fear responses in individuals with anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and specific phobia. One frequently used paradigm is measurement of the acoustic startle reflex under conditions that mimic anxiogenic and fear-related conditions. For example, fear-potentiated startle is the relative increase in the frequency or magnitude of the acoustic startle reflex in the presence of a previously neutral cue (e.g., colored shape; termed the conditioned stimulus or CS+) that has been repeatedly paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (e.g., airblast to the larynx). Our group has recently used fear-potentiated startle paradigms to demonstrate impaired fear extinction in civilian and combat populations with PTSD. In the current study, we examined the use of either auditory or visual CSs in a fear extinction protocol that we have validated and applied to human clinical conditions. This represents an important translational bridge in that numerous animal studies of fear extinction, upon which much of the human work is based, have employed the use of auditory CSs as opposed to visual CSs. Participants in both the auditory and visual groups displayed robust fear-potentiated startle to the CS+, clear discrimination between the reinforced CS+ and non-reinforced CS−, significant extinction to the previously reinforced CS+, and marked spontaneous recovery. We discuss the current results as they relate to future investigations of PTSD-related impairments in fear processing in populations with diverse medical and psychiatric histories

Investigating sex differences in rates and correlates of food addiction status in women and men with ptsd

Background: Food addiction (FA) is a dysregulated eating pattern characterized by difficulties in controlling the intake of certain foods. There is an overlap in physical and mental health correlates of FA and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in the rates of positive FA status in individuals with threshold/subthreshold PTSD, and to examine sex differences in the physical and mental health correlates of FA. Methods: Post-9/11 veterans/service members seeking PTSD treatment were recruited. Participants were diagnosed with PTSD via the administration of a clinical interview. FA status was determined using Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale-2, binary sex and body mass index were assessed with demographics questions. Results: Nearly half (43%) of the sample were women. There were no sex differences in the rates of FA, with an overall FA prevalence of 18%. There were no sex differences in FA symptom count in the whole sample (M = 1.63) or those with FA status (M = 6.21). Individuals with FA reported higher frequency of disordered eating, higher severity of PTSD, and depression symptoms. Conclusions: FA should be assessed in tandem with PTSD symptoms, as its prevalence in that sample is higher than in the general population, and it appears to affect both sexes at similar rates