PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychological and physical condition that is caused by very frightening or distressing events. It occurs in up to 30% of people who experience traumatic events.

Our PTSD Blogs

Add on iCBT: weak evidence of modest benefits in depression and anxiety

iCBT can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD and PTSD - could its accessibility help reach more people?

Liesbeth Tip and Antigone Lanitis reflect on a recent systematic review and meta-analysis that investigated internet-delivered psychological treatment as an add-on to treatment as usual in depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

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Is trauma a transdiagnostic risk for mental health problems? Recent umbrella meta-analysis suggests yes

Mental health services worldwide operate using discrete categories, but significant symptom overlap between different mental health disorders suggests that transdiagnostic approaches may be plausible.

In her debut blog, Megan Bailey summarises an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on whether psychological trauma can be considered as a transdiagnostic risk factor for mental health disorders.

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What impact has the Russian invasion had on youth mental health in Ukraine?

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In his debut blog, Tyler Elliot considers a case-control study focusing on the impact of the Russian invasion on the mental health of adolescents in Ukraine that suggest the risk for developing mental health conditions has likely been exacerbated in war-affected areas.

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The negative effect of the climate crisis on the mental health of millions of people: projections in the region of South Florida

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Dafni Katsampa, Francesca Bentivegna and Ivar Maas reflect on a recent study exploring the impact of extreme climate events on mental health of people located in South Florida, USA.

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Youth trauma narratives: a thematic analysis of meaning-making during trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT)

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In her debut blog, Georgina Thompson explores a qualitative study of how young people create meaning of their experiences during trauma narration, when receiving trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy.

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Trauma transmission in the children of trauma-affected refugees: risk and protective factors

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Theofanis Kyriacou & Andie Ashdown consider a systematic review of risk and protective factors for trauma transmission among trauma-affected refugees and their non-exposed children.

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1 in 5 pre-school aged children develop PTSD symptoms following trauma exposure. Why are we still neglecting these children?

Shy boy

In her debut blog, Mira Vasileva summarises a systematic review which suggests that the pooled prevalence of PTSD in pre-school children who have been exposed to trauma was 21.5%.

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Can brain scans tell us how successful CBT for anxiety will be? Meta-analysis of task-based fMRI studies shows promise

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Millie Lowther, Isabel Luetkenherm, Carlos Mena and Alexandra Pike summarise a recent fMRI meta-analysis, which finds that activation in brain circuits related to salience, interoception and emotional processing were found to predict a positive response to CBT in anxiety disorders.

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Can Tetris help to reduce the intensity and distress of traumatic intrusive memories?

Sometimes life seems like Tetris: it throws at you several, different and unrelated things, and you try to mix and match them, and fit together everything at your best in a seemingly infinite struggle. 
Trying to clear the stage now and then, and maybe get that winning combo, just before everything becomes too overwhelming...

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Shot on Canon 550D, edit in Lightroom Classic CC.

Tanya Garg blogs a study which finds that visuospatial tasks like playing Tetris, do not reduce the intensity and distress of intrusions after watching a traumatic film.

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How could MDMA-assisted and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy help people with depression and PTSD?

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Anya Borissova and Philip Brooks consider a recent review exploring MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for trauma-related mental health difficulties.

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