AP [JAMA article] It almost sounds
sadistic - making rape victims as young as 13 relive their harrowing
assault over and over again. But a new study shows it works surprisingly
well at eliminating their psychological distress.
The
results are the first evidence that the same kind of "exposure" therapy
that helps combat veterans haunted by flashbacks and nightmares also
works for traumatized sexually abused teens with similar symptoms, the
study authors and other experts said.
After exposure
therapy, 83 percent no longer had a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress
disorder. They fared much better than girls who got only supportive
counseling - 54 percent in that group no longer had PTSD after
treatment.
Girls who got exposure therapy also
had much better scores on measures of depression and daily functioning
than girls who got conventional counseling [...]
A recent (2010) extended discussion by several clinicians about how they approach a military client's 'traumatic [memory] nucleus" treating ASD so as to forestall onset of PTSD. Discusses processes of memory consolidation and stage-dependent pro/con of 'exposure'.
ReplyDeleteCase study + 3 commentaries here:
Palgi, Y. & Ben-Ezra M. (2010). “Back To The Future”: Narrative Treatment for Post-Traumatic, Acute Stress Disorder in the Case of Paramedic Mr. G. [Rutgers] Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy 6(1). Online here.