European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation最新文献

Background

For the past twenty years, veterans have sustained an unprecedented operational tempo, which can lead to co-occurring mental health disorders. When veterans present for clinical services, the symptom constellation can be challenging to treat due to the overlap of posttraumatic stress, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms. With limitations, researchers have traditionally used latent variable models to investigate the association between these constructs, whereas network analysis provides a novel approach to study symptom- and disorder-level associations.

Method

In our evaluation of symptom co-occurrence among veterans, we used a sample of treatment-seeking veterans (N = 591) who completed self-report measures of PTSD, depression, and generalized anxiety.

Results

Our cross-sectional network analysis yielded five empirically distinct communities: intrusion and avoidance, hyperarousal and numbing, negative alterations, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms.

Limitations

The data is cross-sectional and should be modeled in longitudinal networks.

Conclusions

Network associations underscore the heterogeneity of PTSD and also highlight overlapping and diverging symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety. These findings are discussed within the context of existing research on veterans, and recommendations for further study and treatment interventions are provided.

Objective

To (i) explore whether or not the deep brain reorienting (DBR) method ameliorates countertransference reactions and distress in psychotherapists who provide trauma therapies and (ii) describe specific burdens on psychotherapists, who work with severe traumatization and dissociation.

Methods

All participants in this small, naturalistic study (n = 16) were experienced trauma psychotherapists who were in ongoing consultations. When they raised relational difficulties and/or distress related to their clinical work, they were offered an opportunity to process their reactions with DBR during the consultation hours. The participants’ self-assessed experiences of discomfort before and after DBR processing were measured with the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS). They also provided verbal and written statements regarding their experiences after DBR intervention.

Results

SUDS ratings/values related to participants’ experiences of discomfort before and after the DBR moment were all lowered (p = 0.00003, binomial calculation). Also lowered after the DBR moment (p = 0.00024, binomial calculation) were ratings related to how disturbing it was for the participants after their clients left their last session – compared to how disturbing the participants thought that it would be when their clients would leave the next session. These subjective ratings were aligned with the participants’ summarized verbal and written statements.

Conclusions

Preliminary results are promising. Potentially, DBR seems to diminish trauma-generated countertransference and related reactions. Use of DBR during consultation must be further researched; interventions for ameliorating countertransference reactions have been requested in contemporary research. New knowledge must be further acquired and implemented in clinical work and consultation/supervision – regarding ways in which traumas affect the brain's functional networks and subcortical regions in those suffering severe traumatization (and vicariously their therapists). Whether or not DBR is a helpful method during consultations (among more inexperienced colleagues) should be investigated.

Objectives

Despite its centrality to clinical psychology, research regarding psychological formulation has primarily focused on the perspectives of clinicians and researchers. ‘Bottom-up’ research into client experiences remains in its infancy. This study aimed to explore participants’ experience and understanding of their formulations before and after completing a group intervention designed to increase self-awareness and comprehension of personal formulations.

Methods

Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) was used to analyse data and develop themes summarising essential experiences. Twenty-one adults attending two streams of a novel Group Formulation Programme participated in semi-structured interviews pre-programme, with fifteen taking part post-programme. The groups comprised 8 and 12 sessions between May 2022 and January 2023. Analysis produced five overarching themes across Pre/Post-Programme: Understanding, Coping, Self, Journey, and The Group. Analysis of pre-data produced four themes: 1) Challenging Life Experiences, 2) The Cyclical Nature of Coping, 3) At an Impasse, and 4) Fractured Self. Post-intervention data produced four themes: 1) New Understandings, 2) Repairing the Relationship with Self, 3) Peaks, Valleys, and the Road Ahead, and 4) Group Experience.

Results

Results indicated that pre-intervention, participants had a good understanding of potential factors contributing to their difficulties but reported confusion around coping and self-relating, which impacted psychological and psychosocial functioning. Post-intervention, participants reported an increased sense of how past and present related to difficulties and decreased self-blame.

Conclusions

Participants noted benefits in line with other research in this area but also noted challenges associated with formulation, including feelings of overwhelm and grief.

Background and purpose

Psychosexual trauma can have a serious impact on the psyche and emotional state of victims, it can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and other mental disorders that are difficult to treat, so the issue of psychosexual trauma is constantly discussed and researched by scientists, which indicates its relevance and importance for society. The study aims to examine the features of psychosexual trauma and its consequences to develop an effective programme to raise awareness of this problem in society.

Methods

The following research methods were used: analysis, systematisation, and surveys, which helped to study the issue of psychosexual trauma as an obstacle to a full life for victims in more depth.

Results

The study examined the consequences of psychosexual trauma, including severe psychological stress, traumatic depression, PTSD, adjustment disorders, gender identity disorders, fear of sexual relations, and a sense of isolation. The study identified ways to overcome psychosexual trauma: seeking professional psychological individual and group support, pharmacotherapy, taking care of physical health, having support from family and friends, and contacting a lawyer or human rights organisation. The study conducted a survey, the results of which indicate significant variability in attitudes towards victims of sexual violence, which correlates with the age and gender of the respondents. According to the survey, tolerance and understanding are more prevalent amongst younger age groups and women, while older age groups and men may be more likely to have negative attitudes.

Conclusions

The survey results served as the basis for the development of an information campaign to eliminate stigma against victims of sexual violence. The findings of the study can be used by psychologists, psychotherapists, and educators to develop training programmes on psychosexual trauma and psychological support to raise public awareness of the seriousness of the problem of psychosexual trauma, its prevalence, and the need for support for victims of violence.

Introduction

Children who have experienced potentially traumatic situations within their first attachment relationships (e.g., abuse, neglect) are more at risk of presenting attachment insecurity and disorganization as well as insecure attachment representations. These children would also be more at risk of developing internalized (e.g., anxiety, depression) and externalized behaviors (e.g., aggressivity, opposition).

Objectives

The study aims to provide a portrait of attachment classification and representations and internalized and externalized behaviors in children aged 7 to 12 from three groups: 35 maltreated children, 42 children from a clinical group, and 39 children from a normative group. The study also aims to evaluate associations between attachment and internalized and externalized behaviors and to detect predictors of internalized and externalized behaviors amongst attachment-related variables.

Method

Participants took part in The Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) and a semi-structured interview, the Child Attachment Interview (CAI). Caregivers completed the Child behaviour Checklist to assess internalized and externalized behaviors.

Results

Results show lower levels of attachment security as well as higher levels of insecure attachment representations and internalized and externalized behaviors in maltreated children. Only disorganized attachment was found to be associated with internalized and externalized behaviors. The ASCT could not differentiate the groups and showed little association with internalized and externalized behaviors.

Conclusion

Disorganized attachment is mainly associated with maltreatment and internalized and externalized behaviors, contrary to ASCT variables, thus generating questions regarding this tool's suitability for school-aged children.

Background

Spouses of ex-combatants often experience psychological distress due to sharing their lives with a partner who endured traumatic experiences, a phenomenon known as “secondary traumatization”. Self-differentiation is the emotional distance one takes, while keeping an amount of togetherness with significant others. The couple's relationship and self-differentiation can impact the manner and expanse of secondary traumatization experienced by the spouse.

Objective

This study aimed to examine the role of marital adjustment and self-differentiation (an enmeshed vs detached differentiation style), in secondary traumatization among spouses of ex-combatants.

Methods

This study is part of a longitudinal study examining psychological implications of war among Israeli ex-combatants and their spouses. Overall, 267 spouses have been assessed three times (2003;2011;2016). Participants completed self-report questionnaires evaluating secondary PTSD (SPS), general psychiatric distress (GPD), self-differentiation and dyadic adjustment (DAS). Cross-path models were used to assess associations between the variables longitudinally.

Results

Associations were found between both self-differentiation and dyadic adjustment and SPS and GPD. Path models showed that fusioncutoff differentiation predicted more SPSGPD over time and vice-versa. Furthermore, dyadic adjustment mediated the association between fusioncutoff differentiation and SPSGPD. In other words, fusioncutoff differentiation in time 1 predicted dyadic adjustment in time 2, which in turn predicted SPSGPD in time 3.

Conclusions

Our results can be interpreted in conjunction with original theories about secondary traumatization, emphasizing the importance of keeping a balanced emotional distance in the marital relationship as a way of reducing distress and PTSD symptoms following traumatic events.

It is known that childhood traumas is associated with attachment problems, alexithymia and lead to some psychiatric disease. This study was investigated the relationship of body focused repetitive behavior disorders (BFRBDs) to childhood trauma, attachment styles, and alexithymia, and the impact of these factors on the severity of the disorder. 105 patients with BFRBDs and 90 healthy controls matched for age and sex were comprised in the study. Participants were administered sociodemographic data form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Toronto Alexythimia Scale (TAS-20), Experiences in Close Relationships-II (ECR-II) and Childhood Traumatic Experiences Questionnairre (CTQ-28). Presence of childhood trauma, depression and anxious attachment score were found to be risk factors for the occurrence of BFRBDs. Physical neglect was found to have an indirect effect on the disease severity through the high score of externally-oriented thinking. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that patients who tend to present themselves as normal and do not express their problems/conflicts have a high severity of disease. In addition, it may be important to plan therapeutic interventions in patients according to their comorbidities such as alexithymia, attachment and childhood trauma.

Background: Early exposure to trauma and stressors can hinder development and accumulate stress over one's lifetime, leading to adverse long-term outcomes. Objective: This study aims to investigate whether individuals exhibiting aggressive behavior may have been victims of emotional abuse and/or neglect during childhood. These experiences profoundly impact development, persisting into adulthood. Four hypotheses were formulated to guide the investigation. Methods: The sample comprised 615 Portuguese adults aged 18 and above. Data collection utilized various instruments including a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Impulsive and Premeditated Aggression Scale, the Life History of Aggression Scale, the Childhood Adversity History Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale, the Personality Inventory, and the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Results and Conclusions: The hypotheses were confirmed, indicating a positive correlation between childhood emotional abuse/neglect and adult aggressive behavior, emotional regulation challenges, elevated neuroticism, openness to experience, boldness, disinhibition, and meanness. Also, emotional regulation difficulties, personality traits, and psychopathy fully mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and impulsive/ premeditated aggression, as well as between a history of aggression and impulsive/ premeditated aggression.

Emotional neglect can have negative effects on mental health and well-being, making it a potentially traumatic experience. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional neglect and depression, anxiety disorders, self-esteem, well-being, perceived social support, and perceived climate anxiety. The study also explored possible mediations and moderations among these variables. A total of 278 participants completed the study and were administered a range of psychological tools, including the Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Additionally, a demographic survey was conducted, which included questions about climate anxiety and experience with psychotherapy. Childhood emotional neglect is significantly, and positively correlated with climate anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression, while being negatively correlated with well-being and perceived social support. Self-esteem, depression, and anxiety partially mediate the relationship between emotional neglect and psychological well-being, suggesting that interventions aimed at improving self-esteem and reducing anxiety may be effective in promoting psychological well-being among individuals who experienced emotional neglect in childhood. Early intervention and prevention efforts are important to reduce negative impact of emotional neglect. In particular, focusing on anxiety and depressive symptoms and self-esteem seems important to protect their well-being.