Treatment options for combat veterans with PTSD

In this review I explored the most effective treatment options available for military veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Specifically, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy was examined. Psychotherapy encompassed cognitive behavioral therapy, emotional desensitization and reprocessing and exposure therapy. Pharmacotherapy included selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, novel antidepressants and benzodiazepines. Meta analyses, literature reviews and research experiments formed the basis for the comparisons between treatments. The main findings include that the psychotherapies cognitive behavioral therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and the pharmacotherapy selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the most superior treatments for veterans with PTSD. Learning Outcomes

Delegates will learn about the variables which make treating combat veterans with PTSD different than other groups with PTSD. In terms of treatment, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic options will be examined. Delegates will leave the presentation aware of what current research states on treatment efficacy of CBT, EMDR, Exposure Therapy, Antidepressants and Anxiolytics.

Conference

English

Nicole Fisher

Fisher, N. (2010, April). Treatment options for combat veterans with PTSD. Poster presented at the 2nd Bi-Annual International European Society for Trauma and Dissociation Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland