PTSD: Fighting the Battle on All Fronts
mia | Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 | 3 Comments »SAN DIEGO – August 19, 2011 – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem that has plagued veterans of all wars for thousands of years, long before it was officially recognized as a medical condition. PTSD has been called a “signature injury” of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Previous reports have estimated that as many as 30% of those returning home have stress-related medical issues. Local statistics echo that estimate: at the VA Hospital of San Diego, one-third of OIF/OEF veterans indicate a potential stress related disorder in the process of completing the VA’s mandatory screening program, which is based on the idea that better identification of the problem leads to better treatment. The good news is that PTSD research, including that which is administered and funded through the Veterans Medical Research Foundation (VMRF) is as deep and diverse as the problem itself.
In fact, a VMRF researcher, Ariel Lang, Ph.D., MPH, is interested in increasing the number of evidence based treatments that are available and ultimately understanding which types of treatment are most effective for which patients. This knowledge will help clinicians tailor treatment for patients and improve outcomes. “Research has shown that giving people an opportunity to express their preferences eliminates barriers to treatment and increases efficacy,” says Dr. Lang. She currently holds VMRF-administered grants to study Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a treatment that combines mindfulness and behavioral principles to help individuals pursue the things they value. In another study, she is looking into whether PTSD treatment can be more effective when it is adapted for combat trauma and takes into account the unique culture and duties of each military branch.
Sonya Norman, Ph.D., program director of the VA San Diego OEF/OIF PTSD Clinic, is similarly involved in many different studies, including one that specifically focuses on guilt in relation to PTSD. “There is a high degree of feelings of guilt in PTSD patients: guilt over something they witnessed, something they couldn’t stop, or something that they themselves did. They have so much guilt over the incident that they can never stop thinking about it, but they also try to block it out,” says Dr. Norman. “As a result, they are never able to break it down, examine it rationally, and find a way to go on. Even when they know that they are suffering, they are afraid to let it go, because their guilt makes them feel as if they deserve to suffer, and the guilt would be worse if they were to let it go. We are excited about a pilot study, which we hope to get funded through VMRF, in which we will set out to demonstrate that these patients can release these feelings of guilt after only 4-5 weeks of therapy.”
Both Drs. Lang and Norman recently appeared on Veterans Health Now: Honoring Service with Science, the Veterans Medical Research Foundation-hosted radio program featured on wsRadio. Their interviews can be accessed as podcasts on the VMRF website at http://www.vmrf.org/podcasts.html
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The stats are overwhelming, the stakes are undoubtedly huge, it really is tricky to speak about and even more complicated to do something about it. Technologies, counseling, communication… each of them compete with human nature. Plus every circumstance is different.