Psychological services
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Psychological services · Nov 2012
ReviewPosttraumatic stress disorder in veterans and military personnel: epidemiology, screening, and case recognition.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that affects 7-8% of the general U. S. population at some point during their lifetime; however, the prevalence is much higher among certain subgroups, including active duty military personnel and veterans. In this article, we review the empirical literature on the epidemiology and screening of PTSD in military and veteran populations, including the availability of sensitive and reliable screening tools. ⋯ S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Given the prevalence and potential consequences of PTSD among veterans and active duty military personnel, development and continued evaluation of effective screening methods is an important public health need.
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Psychological services · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialSoldiers' perceptions of resilience training and postdeployment adjustment: validation of a measure of resilience training content and training process.
Group randomized trials of a resilience training program (formerly Battlemind training) demonstrated effectiveness of the program in reducing postdeployment adjustment problems among military personnel. These results are promising, but program evaluation is a dynamic, multifaceted task, and many questions remain. This article is designed to address one component of resilience training program evaluation: soldiers' perceptions of the training. ⋯ The factors demonstrated good internal consistency, and both correlated with overall training satisfaction and mental health-related attitudes. In addition, both factors predicted significant positive change in a set of mental health outcomes at 6-month follow-up. Implications for postdeployment resilience training are discussed.
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Psychological services · Nov 2012
Subsyndromal posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology in primary care military veterans: treatment implications.
Subsyndromal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers' primary-care clinics and is associated with significant impairment. We used a cross-sectional design to examine PTSD symptoms and depressive disorders endorsed by two cohorts of Veterans meeting less than full PTSD criteria who presented to primary care at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center (i.e., those from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) and non-OEF/OIF/OND Veterans). The Philadelphia VA Behavioral Health Lab (BHL) assessed 141 Veterans who screened positive for subsyndromal PTSD. ⋯ Exposure-based treatments for PTSD offered in specialty mental health clinics target avoidance symptoms. Because the endorsement of avoidance symptoms was low in both of the cohorts that were studied this may not be the most effective treatment target for Veterans with subsyndromal PTSD receiving treatment in primary care settings. For these Veterans, treatments that target reexperiencing and arousal symptoms and/or comorbid depression may be more effective.