Combat PTSD

Living in Danger: The impact of chronic traumatic events and the traumatic context on PTSD.

by Debra Kaysen

PTSD symptom clusters in relationship to alcohol misuse among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking post-deployment VA health care

by Debra Kaysen

Factors associated with posttraumatic growth among the spouses of myocardial infarction patients

by Mithat Durak

Key Words: cognitive processing, environmental factors, individual factors, myocardial infarction patients, posttraumatic growth, spouses of myocardial infarction patients

To clarify the rationale behind Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), a model by Schaefer and Moos describes the relative... more To clarify the rationale behind Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), a model by Schaefer and Moos describes the relative contribution of environmental resources, individual resources, event related factors, cognitive processing and coping (CPC) on PTG. In the present study, this model was tested with the spouses of myocardial infarction patients with data from various hospitals in Turkey. A structural equation model revealed that neither individual nor environmental resources had indirect effects on PTG through the effect of event-related factors and CPC, while they showed direct effects on PTG. The findings were discussed in the context of the theoretical model.

The Mind at War: Images of Women in Vietnam Novels by Combat Veterans

by Kali Tal

Published in Contemporary Literature (Fall 1989).

A review of Vietnam combat literature, with a focus on representations of women. Texts covered include Tim O'Brien's... more A review of Vietnam combat literature, with a focus on representations of women. Texts covered include Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato, William Eastlake's The Bamboo Bed, William Huggett's Body Count, James Webb's Fields of Fire, Larry Heinemann's Close Quarters, Donald McQuinn's Targets, Ken Miller's Tiger the Lurp Dog, John DelVecchio's The Thirteenth Valley, and Winston Groom's Better Times Than These.

Design and Usability Evaluation of a Multi-Modal Memory Restructuring System for the treatment of combat-related PTSD

by Willem-Paul Brinkman

van den Steen, M., Brinkman, W.-P., Vermetten, E., and Neerincx, M. , "Design and usability evaluation of a multi-modal memory restructuring system for the treatment of combat-related PTSD", Proceedings of the ECCE2010 workshop – Cognitive engineering for technology in mental health care and rehabilitation, ISBN 978-94-90818-05-0, pp. 31-43, Mediamatica, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, 2010.

This paper discusses the design and usability evaluation of a system to support treatment of veterans suffering from a... more This paper discusses the design and usability evaluation of a system to support treatment of veterans suffering from a combat related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), focusing on restructuring, reappraising and relearning of past events. The proposed application allows patients and therapist to visualize and talk about the patient’s past experience by placing maps, personal pictures, stories and self created 3D virtual worlds related to past dispatches on a set timeline. The design followed a situated cognitive engineering approach; after a domain analysis a number of possible scenarios were created and reviewed by experts in the field, followed by the implementation and evaluation of several prototypes. A case study and a follow-up experiment with 18 participants, focusing on evaluating the usability of three main interface components (timeline and navigation control, content manager and the 3D world editor), indicated that the system showed no major usability issues and that the system was easy to use.

Multi-Modal Memory Restructuring for Patients Suffering from Combat-Related PTSD: a Pilot Study

by Willem-Paul Brinkman

van der Steen, M., Brinkman, W.-P., Vermetten, E., and Neerincx, M., (2010) "Multi-modal memory restructuring for patients suffering from combat-related PTSD: a pilot study", Annual review of Cybertherapy and telemedicine 2010,  pp. 208-213, IOS press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The paper discusses the design and evaluation of a multimedia software application, which can be used in the treatment... more The paper discusses the design and evaluation of a multimedia software application, which can be used in the treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The application allows patients and therapist to visualize the patients' past experience using maps, personal photos, stories and self-created 3D virtual worlds. The tool aims to allow patients to restructure and relearn about their past experience involving the problematic stressors. Findings of a first experiment with non-patients (N=18) suggests that the tool can facilitate more detailed storytelling. Participants stated that using the application was appealing and enjoyable. Insights were also acquired with a case study of a veteran suffering from combat-related PTSD. This case study showed how a patient uses and interacts with the system in a therapeutic setting.

Cognitive engineering of a military multi-modal memory restructuring system

by Willem-Paul Brinkman

Brinkman, W.-P., Vermetten, E., van den Steen, M., and Neerincx, M.A. (2011). Cognitive engineering of a military multi-modal memory restructuring system. Journal of CyberTherapy and Rehabilitation, 4(1),83- 99.

Several methods have been proposed to treat combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Still, a recent... more Several methods have been proposed to treat combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Still, a recent review reports on high drop-out and non response rates. This has motivated work into the design of a software application to support and to increase the appeal of traditional face-to-face trauma-focused psychotherapy. The research followed a situated cognitive engineering approach, which included a domain analysis, scenarios and claims analysis based on experts reviews (N=10), user evaluations, and a case study. This resulted in the identification of nine core application functions: (1) provide a flexible way of storytelling, (2) provide a structured way of storytelling, (3) prevent losing track of changed and added events, (4) ensure patient trust, (5) ensure usage for therapists with different backgrounds, (6) ensuring awareness of treatment, (7) provide a personal approach, (8) prevent unexpected exposure to emotional material, (9) and ensure appealing and motivating approach throughout the therapy. These functions formed the basis for the design of a military multi-modal memory restructuring (Military - 3MR) system, which focuses on restructuring and relearning of past events. The system allows patient and therapist to visualise past events using personal photos, narrative text, online geographical maps, webcam snapshots, and patient created 3D virtual worlds. Results of the usability evaluation (N=18) suggests key design features such as the time line, content manage, and the 3D world editor, of an acceptable perceived usability level. Results of a storytelling experiment (N=18) between telling an autobiographical story with or without Military-3MR system, found that with the system, time referencing and event description were more precise, and a smaller time period in the story was covered. In the case study, the veteran suffering from combat-related PTSD was pleased with the system and felt encouraged talking about his past events.

`Highly Vulnerable'? Political Violence and the Social Construction of Traumatized Children

by Chris Gilligan

Published in the 'Journal of Peace Research', 2009, Vol 46, No 1

Since the end of the Cold War, humanitarian interventions to provide psychological assistance to children exposed to... more Since the end of the Cold War, humanitarian interventions to provide psychological assistance to children exposed to political violence have become commonplace. Within the literature and the practices of organizations involved in interventions, there is a widespread conception that children exposed to political violence are highly vulnerable to psychological trauma. This article challenges this claim. The article examines a number of methodological weaknesses in the existing literature and associated practices, including: problems of measurement; an inadequate conception of the aetiology of children's psychological responses; and a lack of due attention to the literature on child development. On the basis of this examination, we conclude that the evidence base does not support the conclusion that children are highly vulnerable. The article then suggests that two factors may help to explain the growth in interventions in the absence of a scientifically rigorous evidence base: cultural changes in Western society, which have led to an increasing focus on `victimhood', which maps easily onto existing Western conceptions of childhood as a time of innocence; and changes in the international system at the end of the Cold War, which have provided a favourable environment for the significant growth of `humanitarian' interventions. The article concludes with some suggestions for lines of inquiry for future research.

“Returning from war, the reception and perception of heroes”

by Dan Powers