One of the key challenges facing trauma researchers and clinicians is how to identify
and appropriately intervene with recent trauma victims who are likely to suffer from
persistent posttraumatic distress. This is particularly challenging given that although
the experience of trauma is relatively common, only a minority of trauma victims develop
persistent distress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychological debriefing
interventions are ineffective at preventing PTSD and, in some cases, are detrimental
(
1
). Early cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure-based interventions have shown
some promise, while delaying psychological interventions at least 2 weeks after the
traumatic event and targeting symptomatic individuals has produced more consistently
efficacious results. However, these interventions are time and labor intensive and
require contacting, assessing, and recruiting at-risk trauma victims when they are
typically no longer involved with the medical system.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 4,
2017
Received in revised form:
April 4,
2017
Received:
March 31,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© Society of Biological Psychiatry, 2017.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Intranasal Oxytocin to Prevent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Emergency Department PatientsBiological PsychiatryVol. 81Issue 12
- PreviewThere are currently few preventive interventions available for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intranasal oxytocin administration early after trauma may prevent PTSD, because oxytocin administration was previously found to beneficially impact PTSD vulnerability factors, including neural fear responsiveness, peripheral stress reactivity, and socioemotional functioning. Therefore, we investigated the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration early after trauma on subsequent clinician-rated PTSD symptoms.
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