The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
March 12, 2020
Erwin Krediet, Tijmen Bostoen, Joost J. Breeksema et al.
262 citations
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often remains chronic after psychotherapy, and few effective medications exist. A promising new approach involves psychedelic drugs. This review discusses four compound types: MDMA, ketamine, classical psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD), and cannabinoids. It describes each compound's therapeutic rationale, administration setting, and current evidence for treating PTSD. Each offers unique qualities, from rapidly targeting symptoms to facilitating psychotherapy. The review outlines questions for future research.
Journal of Sleep Research
January 29, 2019
Annika Gieselmann, Malik Ait Aoudia, Michelle Carr et al.
192 citations
Chronic nightmares arise from an interaction between elevated hyperarousal and impaired fear extinction, facilitated by trait affect distress from traumatic experiences, early childhood adversity, trait susceptibility, elevated thought suppression, and potentially sleep-disordered breathing. Treatment options target nightmare meaning, chronic repetition, or maladaptive beliefs. The paper reviews epidemiological findings, aetiology models for traumatized and non-traumatized individuals, and evidence-based interventions, noting gaps in healthcare provider knowledge and delivery. Future perspectives for nightmare treatment and aetiology research are outlined.
Journal of Psychiatric Research
January 1, 2026
Ola Hornmoen, Jessica Carlsson, Jesper Dammeyer et al.
Among trauma-affected refugees receiving imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) for nightmares as an add-on to usual treatment, those with more severe symptoms at baseline showed greater improvement in sleep quality, nightmare severity, and PTSD symptoms. High motivation for psychotherapy predicted better sleep quality and PTSD symptom improvement, while lower cognitive functioning was linked to less PTSD symptom improvement, and using an interpreter was associated with less improvement in sleep quality. These findings suggest that low motivation and low cognitive functioning may be modifiable barriers to benefiting from IRT, though the small sample size limits reliability.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
January 1, 2017
Annette van Schagen, Jaap Lancee, Marijke Swart et al.
Among 498 patients with diverse moderate-to-severe psychiatric disorders, those who also had nightmare disorder showed higher levels of psychopathology and personality pathology than those without nightmare disorder, with small effect sizes. No significant differences were found in coping strategies between the two groups. The findings suggest that nightmare disorder is linked to greater symptom severity in psychiatric patients.
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
September 1, 2015
Annette van Schagen, Jaap Lancee, Izaäk W De Groot et al.
Imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) reduces nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, and general psychiatric symptoms in patients with a range of psychiatric disorders. In a trial of 90 patients, those who received six individual IRT sessions added to their usual treatment showed moderate improvements compared with those receiving treatment as usual alone. The benefits were largely sustained three months later. IRT involves patients changing the script of a nightmare into a new dream and practicing it during the day.