Treatment Programs for Military Veterans with PTSD and

Treatment Programs for Military Veterans with PTSD and Comorbid Mental Health Diagnoses Savannah Pierce, Diamond Ray & Mackenzie Shornak Longwood University

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) PTSD is the result of experiencing a traumatic event during the war, such as combat, or a non-war traumatic event, such as a terrorist attack, family violence, sexual assault, or serious injury ★ Individuals with PTSD continue to experience the psychological effects of trauma ○ ○ Re-experiencing symptoms Avoidance of similar stimuli Negative cognition and mood Increased physical arousal (Ghaffarzadegan, Ebrahimvandi, & Jalali, 2016)

Did you know…?

Did you know…?

Did you know…? ★ More than 2% of the US population (about 7. 7 million people) suffer from PTSD ○ 8 -9% of the US population report experiencing lifetime PTSD (Ghaffarzadegan, Ebrahimvandi, & Jalali, 2016) ★ Since 9/11, there has been an increase for both men and women military personnel to seek mental health services (Menefee et al. , 2016) ★ Practicing mindfulness, yoga and psychoeducation techniques can be helpful in reducing PTSD symptoms in veterans (Zalta et al. , 2018) ★ Service dogs have been studied as an additional treatment for military personnel and veterans with PTSD ○ Results showed decrease in signs of PTSD when having a service dog (O’Haire, & Rodriguez, 2018)

Comorbidity ★ Common trends show veterans with (PTSD) display comorbid symptoms: ○ Suicidal ideation ○ Depression ○ Substance abuse ★ There is a mental health concern with veterans and the relation of suicide and PTSD (Koven, 2017) ★ Surveys show military personnel on active duty display binge drinking behaviors (Allen, Crawford & Kudler, 2016)

Inpatient Treatment Program: Symptom Cluster ★ Individual and group therapy program ★ Intake assessments and 3 -9 month follow up ★ Authors used a “four-factor model” in the DSM-V to divide each symptom into four clusters ★ Concluded that all symptom clusters greatly decreased during the individual and group treatment programs. ★ Results were steady during the 9 -month follow (Phelps, Steele, Metcalf, Alkemade, and Elliot, 2018)

Inpatient Treatment Program: Trauma-Focused Treatment for Veterans ★ Authors suggested to treat PTSD and comorbid symptoms simultaneously ★ ROVER/WISER Program ○ ○ 4 -5 week intensive program Provides Evidence-based Therapy (EBT) for PTSD and integrates skill building for “affective regulation and interpersonal effectiveness” (Menefee, Leopoulos, Tran, Tang, Wanner, Wilde, and Day, 2016)

Outpatient Treatment Program: Cognitive Processing Therapy ★ Two-week treatment program ★ Evaluated effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy for veterans with PTSD ★ Results displayed reduced symptoms at the end of the trial and at a sixmonth follow up (Bryan, Leifker Rozek, Bryan, Reynolds, Oakey, & Roberge, 2018)

Outpatient Treatment Program: Anger Management ★ Anger levels affect ability to cope with PTSD symptoms ★ Veterans with and without PTSD symptoms in addition to comorbid diagnosis ★ Completed anger management program ★ Results: significant improvement in overall mood (Smith and Cruz, 2018)

Outpatient Treatment Program: Evidence-based Treatments ★ Evaluate change in symptoms with PTSD and depression ★ Three-week intensive program ★ Observed 191 veterans before and after therapeutic sessions ○ ○ ○ Mindfulness Yoga Psychoeducation ★ Results: significant decrease in PTSD and depression symptoms (Zalta et al. , 2018)

Research Question ★ What is the most effective way to treat veterans with PTSD and other comorbid disorders? ○ Will the effects of the treatment last? How long? ○ Is there a specific order to treating PTSD and the comorbid symptoms? ○ Will they continue to receive outpatient assistance?

Methods of Proposed Research ★ Participants: Military Veterans ○ ○ In any branch of the military Honorably discharged veteran Male or female Age: 18+ ★ Purposive + Snowball sampling ★ Methods of Research: Phenomenological Qualitative approach ○ ○ ○ Semi-structured interview Survey created by the Anxiety and Depression Associated of America (ADAA) Screening for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA

QUESTIONS