Researchers from the University of London’s Institute of Psychiatry explored which conditions predicted successful outcomes for 77 adults with chronic PTSD who were randomly assigned to either exposure therapy and/or cognitive restructuring therapy, as compared with relaxation therapy.
 
The CAPS (Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale) was used to measure outcomes.

More social support on the Significant Others Scale significantly predicted better outcomes on the CAPS, even after controlling for the effects of the treatment group and of pre-treatment severity.  A particularly important finding was that social support was a significant predictor of outcome for subjects receiving cognitive restructuring and (or) exposure therapy, but did not impact subjects in the relaxation condition.

Question:

Hi Belleruth, I love your CDs and use them personally and in my clinical practice. I would like to suggest that there is a great need for a guided imagery CD specifically designed for law enforcement personnel, to help them deal with trauma that they experience on the job on a regular basis.

I use EMDR with them to resolve trauma, but sometimes I would like to send them home with a more portable form of help for Critical Incident Stress outside of therapy sessions.
 
Although I use the Healing Trauma, Relieve Stress and Healthful Sleep CDs with my cop clients, sometimes they are just too "warm and fuzzy" for this population.
 
Please let me know what you think. I would be very glad to help with this if it becomes a reality. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

C. W., LMFT

This anecdote appeared amid our lively debate last week on using guided imagery downrange, and it’s a great reminder of how imagery gets used on a regular basis by prisoners of war.  People who are trapped in conditions of sensory deprivation invariably turn to imagery - they just intuitively go there. Here is the posting:
 

“I recall reading an article where a soldier, while a prisoner of war, played golf in his mind.  Each day he played on a different course he remembered. Not only did he survive the trauma of being imprisoned, his golf game was improved when he returned home to the States. I want our soldiers to be the best they can be - but most of all I want them to come back home and be able to lead productive lives.”

Researchers from the San Diego V.A. system examined the efficacy of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy or IRT (a kind of nightmare reprocessing therapy that trains people to use a variety of “lucid dreaming” to change or control the content of the nightmare) on reducing nightmares in veterans seeking outpatient treatment for chronic, trauma-related nightmares.

Of those offered IRT, veterans who completed a full course of treatment for PTSD in the past year were more likely to initiate treatment.  However, completion of IRT was not related to previous treatment, demographic variables, or nightmare severity as reported at the first treatment session.

Treatment completers reported significant reductions in nightmare frequency and intensity, severity of insomnia, and subjective daytime PTSD symptoms.  Insomnia and PTSD symptoms, on average, were below clinical cutoffs following treatment, and 23% of patients showed a complete treatment response (defined as one or no nightmares per week).

Researchers from the University of Southern California’s Department of Psychology performed a meta-analysis of what treatment approaches work best for women who have been sexually assaulted during adolescence or adulthood.
 
Altogether, 32 articles were located using data from 20 separate samples. Of the 20 samples, 12 targeted victims with chronic symptoms, three focused on the acute period post-assault, two included women with chronic and acute symptoms, and three were secondary prevention programs.

Question:

I am a police officer in the U.K. I have suffered with PTSD since August 2007, after I almost shot an unarmed man. Following this incident my life went down the toilet. I ruined my marriage and everything else in my life. i have received treatment for PTSD and dissociation. However, I have discovered that during 2008 I may have committed fraud by applying for loans and running up huge credit card bills, to which I have no knowledge of, but looking at all of the evidence it is quite clear that I may have done this. I really don't know what to do as PTSD is not well known in the U.K legal system and I may find myself in the criminal court, having to explain what has happened to me to 12 jury members that have never heard of PTSD. I just don't know what to do.

Can you please help me?
John

Researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, investigated the impact of mindfulness training (MT) on working memory capacity (WMC) and affective experience of reservists during their high-stress, pre-deployment phase.  They hypothesized that MT may bolster working memory and mitigate the deleterious effects of high stress.  (Working memory capacity is used in managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions.  High levels of stress may deplete it, leading to cognitive failures and emotional disturbances.)

The study recruited 2 military cohorts during the high-stress pre-deployment interval, and provided MT to 1 group (MT, n = 31) but not the other group (military control group, MC, n = 17). Additionally, the study used another control group of civilians (n = 12) for comparison.

Dear Belleruth,
First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my broken heart: I am a trauma survivor of some years now, and last year at about this time, I went sick with a 'frozen shoulder' - a quite painful condition, that takes a lot of time to (self) heal - there is no real cure.

It was the latest of a whole series of illnesses that I had experienced that were, in hindsight, related to my traumas. I read about you in Maggie Phillips book 'Reversing Chronic Pain', then read your book 'Invisible Heroes' and then ordered three CD's two months ago.

Dear Belleruth:

After being married for 33 years to the same man since I was 21 years old, I have asked for a divorce. He has been unable to change his emotionally & verbally abusive behaviors, in spite of counseling. In October, I discovered he was having a sexual affair (2nd time) with a woman younger than him (he is 58, she 45). He said he wanted a divorce, that he has been unhappy a long time. I said fine, I will make this happen.

I am fed up with him, but I feel so sad, heartbroken really, in spite of the problems.  What do you suggest for all the emotional upheavals? Please change my name to Kathie. Do not give my last name or email.

-Kathie