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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Improving Assessment Of Race, Ethnicity, And Culture To Further Veteran Ptsd Research., Jane M. Onoye, Michele Spoont, Julia M. Whealin, Nnamdi Pole, Margaret Anne Mackintosh, James L. Spira, Leslie A. Morland
Improving Assessment Of Race, Ethnicity, And Culture To Further Veteran Ptsd Research., Jane M. Onoye, Michele Spoont, Julia M. Whealin, Nnamdi Pole, Margaret Anne Mackintosh, James L. Spira, Leslie A. Morland
Psychology: Faculty Publications
Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its treatment have been documented for both civilians and military veterans. To better understand the presence of disparities and factors that might contribute to them, accurate assessment of race and ethnicity is critical; however there still remains unstandardized assessment and challenges to implementation. The authors highlight specific problems in the assessment of race and ethnicity in research, such as missing data, misclassification, classification categories too limited to reflect many peoples' social identities, and inappropriate aggregation of ethnoracial subgroups. Conclusions: A proposal is made for a minimal uniform assessment standard …
A Correlative Analysis Of Mystical Experiences And Lasting Symptom Improvement From Mdma-Assisted Psychotherapy For Treatment-Resistant Ptsd : A Project Based Upon An Investigation Sponsored By Multidisciplinary Association For Psychedelic Studies (Maps), Michiko A. Mitsunaga-Whitten
A Correlative Analysis Of Mystical Experiences And Lasting Symptom Improvement From Mdma-Assisted Psychotherapy For Treatment-Resistant Ptsd : A Project Based Upon An Investigation Sponsored By Multidisciplinary Association For Psychedelic Studies (Maps), Michiko A. Mitsunaga-Whitten
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
Before the Controlled Substance Act of 1985 categorized psychedelic substances as criminalized schedule I drugs, psychiatrists used ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as a catalyst to psychotherapy. Over two decades later, this project seeks to contribute to the renaissance of psychedelic research. Specifically, this study focuses on participants’ experience of treatment in the recent FDA approved Phase 2 clinical study, “A Randomized, Triple-Blind Phase 2 Pilot Study Comparing 3 Different Doses of MDMA in conjunction with manualized psychotherapy in 24 Veterans, Firefighters, and Police Officers with Chronic, Treatment-resistant PTSD.” The current study presents results from correlation analyses of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire …
Determinants Of Resource Needs And Utilization Among Refugees Over Time, A. Michelle Wright, Abir Aldhalimi, Mark A. Lumley, Hikmet Jamil, Nnamdi Pole, Judith E. Arnetz, Bengt B. Arnetz
Determinants Of Resource Needs And Utilization Among Refugees Over Time, A. Michelle Wright, Abir Aldhalimi, Mark A. Lumley, Hikmet Jamil, Nnamdi Pole, Judith E. Arnetz, Bengt B. Arnetz
Psychology: Faculty Publications
Purpose: This study examined refugees’ resource needs and utilization over time, investigated the relationships between pre-displacement/socio-demographic variables and resource needs and utilization, and explored the role of resource needs and utilization on psychiatric symptom trajectories. Methods: Iraqi refugees to the United States (N = 298) were assessed upon arrival and at 1-year intervals for 2 years for socio-demographic variables and pre-displacement trauma experiences, their need for and utilization of 14 different resources, and PTSD and depressive symptoms. Results: Although refugees reported reduction of some needs over time (e.g., need for cash assistance declined from 99 to 71 %), other needs …
The Implementation And Acceptance Of Yoga Techniques For Children With Complex Trauma Among Practicing Clinicians, Danielle S. Martineau
The Implementation And Acceptance Of Yoga Techniques For Children With Complex Trauma Among Practicing Clinicians, Danielle S. Martineau
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This mixed-method study was undertaken to determine acceptance and utilization rates of yoga techniques in treatment with children ages 5-17, with complex trauma among practicing-clinicians. Secondly, it was to explore beliefs of effectiveness and barriers of implementation of yoga in a therapeutic milieu. An online survey was sent through mass emails of local agencies, online social media sites through groups associated with trauma and mental health to determine practicing therapists' interests, utilization, beliefs of effectiveness, and barriers of implementation of yoga techniques in therapeutic practice with children with complex trauma. To qualify to participate in this study, one had to …
Farm Work As Treatment For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Mindy L. Walls
Farm Work As Treatment For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Mindy L. Walls
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This exploratory, descriptive study assessed what, if anything, is beneficial about engaging in agricultural work, or, farm work, for individuals living with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An anonymous, online survey was utilized, asking a series of multiple choice and open ended questions about the participants’ farm work history, PTSD experience, and demographic information. Thirty-nine participants responded with varying identities and work history, but many shared experiences of PTSD. Almost all of the participants found farming to be beneficial for managing PTSD. Specifically, four themes arose from the data that explained what about farming was beneficial for individuals with PTSD: farming …
The Things They Carry : A Study Of Transitional Object Use Among U.S. Military Personnel During And After Deployment, Julia St. George
The Things They Carry : A Study Of Transitional Object Use Among U.S. Military Personnel During And After Deployment, Julia St. George
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
The purpose of this study was to explore how transitional objects are used during and after combat, and whether their use promotes resilience, reduces the effects of combat-related stress, and helps service members with "coming home" from war. The research looked for possible ties between objects with emotional significance that were carried during deployment and the effect the items had on service members' mental health and wellbeing, Sixty-six combat veterans of World War II through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan completed an online survey consisting of multiple-choice, open-ended, and Likert scale questions that were used to capture their experiences …
Connecting After Killing : An Exploration Of The Intersubjective Space Between Therapist And Client When Combat Rests Between Them, Alicia L. Simoni
Connecting After Killing : An Exploration Of The Intersubjective Space Between Therapist And Client When Combat Rests Between Them, Alicia L. Simoni
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This qualitative study examines how the psychological dimensions of killing in combat manifest in intersubjective space between civilian therapists and service member clients. The investigation is based on interviews with 10 civilian therapists who provide psychotherapy to combat service members who have killed or think they may have killed in combat. The reality of killing in combat renders most individuals both viscerally and existentially uncomfortable, and thus is often turned away from. Civilian psychotherapists are not immune to this. The aim of this study was to explore how therapists' subjectivities—in the form of conscious and unconscious actions, thoughts, and emotions …
Promoting Posttraumatic Growth Among Oif/Oef Veterans : A Theoretical Exploration Of The Challenges Of Reintegration, Erin E. Clements
Promoting Posttraumatic Growth Among Oif/Oef Veterans : A Theoretical Exploration Of The Challenges Of Reintegration, Erin E. Clements
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
Approximately 2.2 million men and women have been deployed in service of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And veterans are returning to their communities in large numbers, many of them with a range of visible and invisible medical and psychological injuries and needs (Tanielian and Jaycox, 2008; Hoge et al., 2004; Hoge, Auchterloni, and Milliken, 2006). The process of veterans re-entering civilian society following a deployment is known as reintegration (Demers, 2011). While the mental health issues and needs of returning OIF/OEF veterans have been widely studied (Tanielian and Jaycox, 2008) their experiences and struggles related to reintegration remain …
Adult Chldren Of Male Military Combatants : Impacts Into Adulthood, Robert N. Smith
Adult Chldren Of Male Military Combatants : Impacts Into Adulthood, Robert N. Smith
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This study was undertaken to explore potential impacts occurring in adulthood stemming from individuals' childhood experiences of growing up in a household with a father who sustained combat-related trauma during the course of their military service. Numerous studies in recent years and decades have researched how military wartime or combat-related trauma can affect the lives of the soldiers who sustained the actual trauma, as well as exploring secondary traumatization and its effects on the family system upon their return home from combat. However, there has been little attention paid to the adult stage of life for individuals raised by a …
Learning From Art Therapists : Strategies For Treating Children With Ptsd, Merryl E. Raubeson
Learning From Art Therapists : Strategies For Treating Children With Ptsd, Merryl E. Raubeson
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This study was undertaken to develop and pilot a methodology for looking at theoretical underpinnings and techniques employed by art therapists, with the goal of adding to our knowledge about the use of art therapy to treat children and adolescents with trauma histories and PTSD. Methods: Five practicing art therapists with advanced degrees and certification in art therapy who have been practicing with the target population for more than two years were interviewed about their theoretical orientations, diagnostic strategies, and clinical practices, including their understanding of the relationships, if any, between the presenting symptoms of their trauma-exposed clients and their …
Oef/Oif Veterans With And Without Ptsd : Levels Of Relationship Distress, Social Support, Combat Experience, And Deployment, Jeanne-Marie E. Mailloux
Oef/Oif Veterans With And Without Ptsd : Levels Of Relationship Distress, Social Support, Combat Experience, And Deployment, Jeanne-Marie E. Mailloux
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
As Veterans have returned home from the OEF/OIF wars they have faced many struggles with reintegration. Studies of Veterans returning home have found rates of PTSD as high as 18 % (Hoge et al., 2004; Hoge, Terhakopian, Castro, Messer, and Engel, 2007). The symptomatology of PTSD has historically complicated Veterans primary relationships as well other interpersonal relationships and this study seeks to look at the relationship between PTSD and interpersonal distress in a sample of Veterans returning from the OEF/OIF wars. The author conducted secondary analysis of data from a survey taken by a sample of Connecticut Veterans (n = …
Clinical Use Of Music As An Adjunct To Evidence-Based Treatment For Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Levin Jaered Sibley-Schwartz
Clinical Use Of Music As An Adjunct To Evidence-Based Treatment For Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Levin Jaered Sibley-Schwartz
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
Substantial efforts have been made to provide evidence based therapeutic treatment for combat veterans seeking mental health services for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to the clinical complexity of PTSD, discovering a muti-effect approach treating both the diagnostically significant PTS symptoms as well as the non-diagnostic associated features of PTSD would be beneficial. This independent investigation was developed to explore the relationship of music to the current evidence-based treatment practices for PTSD. The researcher explored the relationship between the physiological, psychological and social effects of both music and PTSD, the mechanisms of change intrinsic to PTSD therapy, and the clinical …
Therapist's Views Of How Hope Influences The Setting And Attainment Of Treatment Goals Among Clients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder : A Qualitative Study : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Courtney Anne Jones
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
The purpose of the current study was to determine the way that therapists view the role that hope plays in the treatment of clients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, specifically in regard to the treatment planning process and attainment of treatment goals. This exploratory qualitative study aims to contribute to previously existing literature about hope and its influence on treatment processes and focused on the areas of: (a) the role of hope in the therapeutic process, (b) hope and PTSD, (c) the assessment of hope, (d) fostering hope, (e) PTSD and treatment goals, and (f) hope, PTSD, and treatment goals. Ten …
The Exploration Of Therapists' Personal Experiences With Secondary Trauma And Their Personal Mindfulness Practice : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Elizabeth Jane Reinecke
The Exploration Of Therapists' Personal Experiences With Secondary Trauma And Their Personal Mindfulness Practice : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Elizabeth Jane Reinecke
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This qualitative study investigated the use of mindfulness by therapists treating trauma victims. The purpose of this study was to better understand ways in which a mindfulness practice, such as yoga and/or meditation, can affect the experience of secondary trauma in trauma therapists working with clients who are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Six female trauma therapists working with the VA system in Colorado were interviewed. Each participant was asked to reflect upon their experiences with secondary trauma and how their mindfulness practice has impacted both their personal and professional lives. Participants were all at least Master level …
The Use Of Dialectical Behavior Therapy For Treating Juvenile Delinquents : How Mindfulness Mediates Trauma Symptomatology And Reduces Anti-Social Behavior, Ashley Emma Sitkin
The Use Of Dialectical Behavior Therapy For Treating Juvenile Delinquents : How Mindfulness Mediates Trauma Symptomatology And Reduces Anti-Social Behavior, Ashley Emma Sitkin
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
Youth within the U.S. juvenile justice system are among the most traumatized. There is a need for trauma sensitive treatment in order to address the mental health needs of traumatized, delinquent youth and prevent re-traumatization within the juvenile justice system. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a promising treatment for juvenile delinquents with trauma histories. This thesis posits that DBT for delinquent youth supports rehabilitation through the mechanism of mindfulness by targeting posttraumatic stress reactions, which in turn may reduce anti-social behaviors. A review of the literature appears to support the hypothesis that through decreased experiential avoidance and enhanced emotional regulation …
Through Children's Eyes : Understanding Visible And Invisible Injury In Military Parents : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Meredith Grace Morray
Through Children's Eyes : Understanding Visible And Invisible Injury In Military Parents : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Meredith Grace Morray
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This qualitative study explores how young children (age 5-11) experience and develop empathy about parents who are suffering from physical and psychological injuries. This study was based on a Sesame Workshop film which depicts five families with a parent returning from war with either a visible (arm or leg amputation) or an invisible (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic Brain Injury) wound. Children of military families (n= 28 children) and children of civilian families (n= 42 children) comprised the study sample. Focus groups based on a semi-structured interview guide were conducted after the viewing of the film. Findings indicated children's …
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Depression In Combat Veterans Within Group Based Exposure Therapy Treatment : A Correlation Between Grief And Guilt? : A Project Based Upon An Investigation At Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Atlantic, Ga., Erin Hamilton Richter
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This study examines the potential multifaceted relationship between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), grief, guilt and depression. A sample pool of 32 veterans diagnosed with chronic PTSD volunteered as participants for this study by completing the Posttraumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL), the Beck Inventory for Depression (BDI), the Prolonged Grief Diagnostic tool, and the Traumatic Related Guilt Inventory (TRGI), pre- and post- group based exposure therapy treatment (GBET). Participants for this study were all male veterans, who ranged in ages from 47-64 years old. Twenty of the participants were African American/Black; 11 participants were Caucasian/White; and one participant identified as "other." …
Social Workers Helping To Put Out The Fire : How Do Combination Fire Department Employees Work Through Occupational Stress?, Lisa Anne Rudge
Social Workers Helping To Put Out The Fire : How Do Combination Fire Department Employees Work Through Occupational Stress?, Lisa Anne Rudge
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
This project was conducted to explore co-relational patterns between occupational stressors, coping skills, and self care practices among combination fire department employees. This population is defined as being one in which has minimal full-time coverage and relies on on-call groups during the evening and early hours of the day to respond to fire suppression and/or medically related 911 emergency calls. This qualitative study included ten participants from the New England area who all identified as being over the age of eighteen, identified as male, and could speak and read English fluently. Participants were asked to respond to demographic questions, and …
Racial And Ethnocultural Considerations In The Treatment Of Combat Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder With Servicemembers And Veterans Of Color, Nada Michael
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects
Research from past wars has shown that veterans of color have significantly higher rates of PTSD than their white counterparts and a higher prevalence over their lifetime. Studies have sought to explain these differences and have found that while there are perhaps no racial genetic predispositions to the development of PTSD, ethno-cultural factors which are often associated with race play a significant role in the etiology and treatment of PTSD and therefore are important to consider when working with this population. This purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which clinicians who work with servicemembers and veterans …
Gender And Ptsd: What Can We Learn From Female Police Officers?, Michelle M. Lilly, Nnamdi Pole, Suzanne R. Best, Thomas Metzler, Charles R. Marmar
Gender And Ptsd: What Can We Learn From Female Police Officers?, Michelle M. Lilly, Nnamdi Pole, Suzanne R. Best, Thomas Metzler, Charles R. Marmar
Psychology: Faculty Publications
Studies of civilians typically find that female gender is a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Police and military studies often find no gender differences in PTSD. We compared 157 female police officers and 124 female civilians on several variables including trauma exposure, peritraumatic emotional distress, current somatization, and cumulative PTSD symptoms. We found that despite greater exposure to assaultive violence in the officer group, female civilians reported significantly more severe PTSD symptoms. Elevated PTSD symptoms in female civilians were explained by significantly more intense peritraumatic emotional distress among female civilians. We also found that female officers showed a …
Prospective Prediction Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Using Fear Potentiated Auditory Startle Responses, Nnamdi Pole, Thomas C. Neylan, Christian Otte, Clare Henn-Hasse, Thomas J. Metzler, Charles R. Marmar
Prospective Prediction Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Using Fear Potentiated Auditory Startle Responses, Nnamdi Pole, Thomas C. Neylan, Christian Otte, Clare Henn-Hasse, Thomas J. Metzler, Charles R. Marmar
Psychology: Faculty Publications
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been most consistently associated with exaggerated physiologic reactivity to startling sounds when such sounds occur in threatening contexts. There is conflicting evidence about whether startle hyperreactivity is a preexisting vulnerability factor for PTSD or an acquired result of posttrauma neural sensitization. Until now, there have been no prospective studies of physiologic reactivity to startling sounds in threatening contexts as predictors of PTSD symptoms. Methods: One hundred and thirty-eight police academy cadets without current psychopathology were exposed to repeated 106-dB startling sounds under increasing (low, medium, or high) threat of mild electric shock while their …