Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that is caused by exposure to traumatic or stressful events in life. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been shown to be an effective agent in drug-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effect MDMA has on functional connectivity in healthy individuals and individuals with PTSD and investigate the potential mechanisms via which MDMA exerts its effects in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD patients. A total of 134 articles from Web of Science and Medline EBSCO were screened and 5 articles relevant for the systematic review were identified. After MDMA administration, an increase and decrease in functional connectivity in multiple brain areas and networks was observed, such as the thalamus, visual cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, default mode network, cerebellar network, sensorimotor network, salience network, and executive network. Notably, MDMA increased amygdala-hippocampal functional connectivity which may link to improved emotion regulation and fear extinction in patients receiving MDMA-assisted therapy. The findings evidence the complex effects of MDMA on brain connectivity and highlight the need for further research in this area, although MDMA-assisted therapy does prove to be a promising alternative for treating PTSD.

Research Objectives: Every day in the United States 110 people are killed with firearms, and more than 230 are shot and survive. Survivors of community-based gun violence encounter complex challenges, including increased mental health risks and re-victimization, amidst societal stigma and weakened trust in support systems. The fear of community-based gun violence substantially distorts the way that millions of people live their lives producing detrimental mental repercussions not only for survivors but for their family members as well. Research shows that parents and other family members of child and adolescent gunshot survivors experience an increase in mental health disorders. Typically, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a concept used to understand the traumatic aftermath and symptomatology of this type of violence. However, it overlooks the anticipatory threat of community-based gun violence, which continually influences future decisions and behaviors while lacking the historical context that accounts for the disproportionate nature of community-based gun violence (e.g. race and socioeconomic status). Continuous Traumatic Stress (CTS) focuses on the ongoing anticipation of future threats and traumas, rather than those from the past. CTS has mainly been utilized within the international literature in war-torn countries and highlights how persistent poverty, racial and gender-based violence, as well as violence committed by institutional actors (e.g. law enforcement), continuously traumatizes vulnerable populations. Understanding community-based gun violence through CTS may provide a new perspective of its psychological and social impact. As a result, a CTS pilot scale was developed to focus on how often participants have experienced community violence and the frequency in which it consumed their thought process. Moreover, little research has investigated the impact of gun violence on the family system. This study seeks to help fill these gaps by applying CTS and family systems theory (FST) to understand the continuous traumatic stressors that community-based gun violence and their families experience post injury and how is this violence perceived to impact on the family system. Methods: This qualitative study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to conduct 21 separate qualitative interviews between November 2022 and March 2024 with survivors of gun violence and their chosen family members from Brooklyn, NY. Participants were first asked questions pertaining to CTS and were then administered the CTS pilot scale. The pilot scale gathered lifetime data about their exposure to direct and indirect violence as context for the present and future based threats that have been highlighted within the CTS literature. They were then asked questions pertaining to FST. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed by a team of three researchers. Given that the hermeneutic phenomenology is not restricted to a set of analytical techniques, a deductive thematic analysis approach was first used to utilize a predefined set of codes, rooted in the foundational components of family systems theory and CTS to begin the analysis. Then an inductive thematic analysis approach was then used to analyze the data to derive concepts and themes that were not apparent in the FST or CTS literature. Results: Qualitative analysis from interviews with gunshot survivors and their chosen family members yielded three key thematic findings pertaining to FST. 1) Alterations in Communication 2) Reconstructing Masculinity and 3) Identity and Support Changes. Qualitative analysis pertaining to CTS with gunshot survivors and their chosen family members yielded three key thematic findings: 4) Absence of protection 5) Present and Anticipated Trauma and 6) Post Traumatic Growth. Conclusion: Specific implications for the field of social work, including those who work with survivors of community violence are outlined. Additionally, this chapter details modifications to social work practices and policies aimed to reduce gun violence that may improve outcomes for social workers and participants. The chapter closing by addressing the theoretical implications for CTS and FST, implications for future research, and finally, disclosing limitations.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly debilitating mental illness that is incited by various types of trauma and causes core symptoms of re-experiencing, hyperarousal, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, and negative cognition and mood. It is accompanied by functional, social, and occupational impairment, as well as higher risks of medical comorbidities and mortality. Estimates indicate that PTSD affects 3.9% of the global population, and 7-9% of the US population, with only 50% of those with persistent PTSD treatment-seeking. The gold standard of PTSD treatment is prolonged exposure therapy and cognitive processing theory, with the addition of antidepressants; however, dropout rates are high likely due to the adverse effects of worsening re-experiencing of trauma and exacerbating behaviors of avoidance. As a result, alternative therapies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) represent more tolerable treatment options. Historically, literature on TMS is promising for its low risk of side effects and efficacy, but there is no general consensus on treatment-specific targets, frequency of treatment delivery, or long-term efficacy. This proposed study will evaluate the use of neuroimaging guided intermittent theta burst stimulation, a form of TMS, for core PTSD symptom reduction and its efficacy up to one year in duration to potentially reduce the morbidity and mortality sequelae of PTSD.

A delayed type of combat-related disorder among Vietnam veterans has resulted in increasing numbers of such veterans seeking mental health assistance and the inclusion of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a new classification in the DSM III. With symptoms of re-experiencing, emotional numbing, hyper-alertness, sleep disturbance, survival guilt and avoidance, PTSD can be extremely disruptive of social, intellectual, and occupational functioning. While imaginal flooding of combat scenes has been shown to dramatically reduce PTSD symptomatology, the only supporting evidence published to date has been case studies. This is the first controlled study of the treatment using a clinical sample of the population. Subjects were sixteen male Vietnam combat—exposed veterans who sought out patient treatment at the VAMC in Salem, Virginia. Aged 33 to 40, they all suffered from PTSD. A yoked design was utilized in which one group (£;8) received a supplemental flooding treatment and the other (ns=8) did not. All subjects received standard hospital out patient treatment which generally consisted of both Vietnam Veteran group and individual therapy. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

Survivors of natural disaster may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In developing nations, such as the Honduras, poverty and limited resources mean that disaster relief from outside the country is needed. Researchers (Crigger, Holcomb, and Weiss, 1999) interviewed survivors of Hurricane Mitch. They reported overwhelming feelings of helplessness/powerlessness among disaster survivors. They also raised the question of whether this was evidence of the presence of PTSD. The purpose of this retrospective analysis of symptoms reported by urban Hondurans in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch was to examine the possibility that these symptoms were related to PTSD. A sample of 345 clinic health forms was analyzed. The research questions were: 1) What were the chief complaints of urban Hondurans seen in the mission clinics over a 5-day period in March of 1999? 2) Do the urban Hondurans attribute their illness to the effects of Hurricane Mitch? 3) Are reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? 4) What are the nursing implications for future post-disaster interventions in developing nations? While the findings of this study are not statistically significant, the clinical significance cannot be ignored. Several symptoms which have been well documented to be associated with PTSD were reported with nearly twice the expected frequency by subjects who also reported being sick as a consequence of Hurricane Mitch. In PTSD, early identification and intervention, is directly related to the reduced rate of comorbidity and chronicity of the disorder.

The Supporting Transformation and Resilience (STAR) program is a groundbreaking doctoral project in the field of occupational therapy designed to enhance the resilience, quality of life, and overall well-being of adult survivors of childhood trauma who are raising a child with a disability. Childhood trauma can profoundly impact an individual's life, and caring for a child with a disability can introduce additional challenges, making it essential to develop a comprehensive support program tailored to this specific population. STAR uses a mixed-method experimental design with a waitlist control group. The STAR program leverages a hybrid approach, combining psychoeducational and experiential components underpinned by a peer mentor model. The in-person sessions are proposed to be held at the YMCA, spanning a 12-week period with weekly in-person gatherings. Furthermore, participants will engage in a once-weekly asynchronous email support group and have access to online modules available around the clock. The waitlist control group will be granted access to the online modules, offering a basis for comparison with the participants actively engaging in the in-person and online aspects of the program. The aim of the STAR program is not only to gather critical data but also to offer support and resources for survivors of childhood trauma, creating a holistic approach that addresses their unique needs and circumstances. The STAR program holds the potential to shed light on the impact of a novel occupational therapy health promotion initiative on the resilience, quality of life, and overall well-being of its participants. This project anticipates significantly contributing to the occupational therapy and trauma fields. It has the potential to enhance the lives of those who face the challenges of both childhood trauma and caring for a child with a disability.

The present investigation evaluated whether dispositional use of emotional approach coping partially accounts for the association between parental response to emotional expression and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in a sample of 252 trauma-exposed individuals drawn from a pool of college students and college-age members of the community at-large. An online survey assessed parental reactions to participants' negative emotions during childhood (i.e., offspring retrospective report), as well as participant trauma history, PTSS, and use of emotional approach coping. Findings complement literature illustrating the long-lasting implications of the parent-child relationship, such that both supportive and unsupportive parenting were related to PTSS. Supportive parental reactions also were related to emotional expression, but not emotional processing, and unsupportive reactions did not significantly relate to either aspect of emotional approach coping. Notably, emotional approach coping strategies were unrelated to PTSS in the full sample, and thus the indirect effects models were not supported. Post hoc analyses indicated preliminary support for the indirect effect of emotional expression on the relation between supportive parenting and PTSS in the local college student sample (n = 117). Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Text in Afrikaans / During her theoretical training as an educational psychologist, the researcher became acquainted with the relations theory. The researcher became aware of the fact that persons who have experienced psychological trauma, commonly practice irrational inner dialogue/self talk. From her own experience, it also became clear that traumatized persons deal with their trauma more effectively when they have good relations with others. Due to the fact that these aspects are significant aspects of the relations theory, the researcher began to wonder whether this theory could possibly be of value in therapy with traumatized persons. On the basis of a qualitative study of limited scope, it was found that, with certain reservations, the educational psychological relations theory could be a workable theory in therapy and that relations therapy could make a valuable contribution to the success of therapy with traumatized persons. / In die loop van haar teoretiese opleiding as opvoedkundige sielkundige het die navorser kennis gemaak met die relasieteorie. Die navorser het bewus geword van die feit dat mense wat 'n sielkundige trauma in hulle lewens beleef het, oor die algemeen irrasionele selfspraak beoefen. Na aanleiding van haar eie ervaring, het dit ook duidelik geword dat getraumatiseerde persone meer effekttef deur hulle trauma kan werk indien hulle relasies toereikend is. Omdat hierdie aspekte juis baie gewig dra in die relasieteorie, het die navorser begin wonder of die relasieteorie nie moontlik van waarde kan wees in terapie met getraumatiseerdes nie. Op grond van 'n kwaiitatiewe studie van beperkte omvang is daar bevind dat, met sekere voorbehoude, die opvoedkundig-sielkundige relasieteorie wel 'n werkbare teorie in terapie kan wees en dat relasieterapie 'n waardevolle bydrae tot die sukses van terapie met getraumatiseerdes kan iewer. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Critical care nurses experience stressful situations in their daily working environments. The question arises for nurses: are there adequate support systems in the critical care environment and what are critical care nurses doing to mantain their own health and well-being. Facilitating conscious awareness among critical care nurses could enhance their resiliency and their hardiness, strengthening their coping capacities in stressful working situations. The contextual framework adopted for this research was the Neuman Systems Model. A qualitative research approach (exploratory, descriptive and contextual) was used to explore and describe the stress experienced by critical care nurses. Focus group interviews were conducted with critical care nurses and individual interviews with nurse managers. The results revealed their perceptions and experiences about the effects of stress in the critical care environment, as well as some of their coping strategies. Raising critical care nurses' levels of conscious awareness about their coping strategies with stressful events in their daily working lives, could enhance their resiliency and hardiness, enabling them to continue working effectively in stressful environments. This could enhance the general well-being of individual critical care nurses, the nursing care rendered to critically ill patients, and save money for the health care services by reducing turnover rates among critical care nurses. / Health Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

In this article post-shooting trauma is utilized as an arbitrary punctuation to indicate how police officers communicate their distress during this period of rapid transition in South Africa. It is argued that the medical model (with its attendant lineal causal explanations and descriptions) is inhibitively limited in describing what police officers are presently experiencing. The author motivates the advantages of perceiving and describing events from an ecosystemic perspective (which provides a contextual understanding and emphasizes relationships} . "Stress" is described as an aspect of the system as a whole and not singularly attributable to individuals alone. Among others new policing rules and roles, the turnover in personnel, and the rate of's'ocio-political changes are shown to contribute. It is argued that the Police, as society's guardians of "power" have become the "symptom bearers" for a society in the painful process of adapting to change. Recommendations regarding possible interventions are made. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)