Compassion meditation (CM) is a contemplative practice that is intended to cultivate the ability to extend and sustain compassion toward self and others. Although research documents the benefits of CM in healthy populations, its use in the context of psychopathology is largely unexamined. The purpose of this study was to refine and initially evaluate a CM protocol, Cognitively Based Compassion...
BACKGROUND Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common psychiatric condition that can develop following a traumatic experience. PTSD is associated with significant disability, a large economic burden, and despite the range of therapies to treat PTSD, response to antidepressants is limited. A growing body of clinical research suggests the efficacy of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine...
A novel understanding and therapeutic approach to the treatment of PTSD-related flashback triggers are described. Triggered responses are conceptualized as the result of latent dissociative structures of neural organization and psychodynamic functioning activated by current events. The dissociative structure - here described as a dissociated ego state (DES) - reflects a fracturing of executive...
About 80% of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients suffer from nightmares or dysphoric dreams that cause major distress and impact nighttime or daytime functioning. Lucid dreaming (LD) is a learnable and effective strategy to cope with nightmares and has positive effects on other sleep variables. In LDs, the dreamer is aware of the dreaming state and able to control the dream content....
Objective: Two of the most common and costly mental health diagnoses among military veterans who served in the post-9/11 conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, but over half of veterans who screen positive for these problems do not seek treatment. A key barrier is self-stigma of mental illness. Mindfulness has shown promise as an explanatory...
Law enforcement officers are regularly exposed directly and indirectly to a wide variety of traumatic stressors, which take place against a backdrop of high levels of organizational stressors. Consequently, this group is at elevated risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other negative physical and mental health outcomes, yet there are few empirically supported interventions to...
Objective: The present study investigated the ways in which dispositional mindfulness is related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and job burnout among firefighters by considering the role of perceived social support. Method: A total of 409 Chinese firefighters completed the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, the Maslach...
Introduction Combat veterans are at high risk for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders. Ketamine has been shown to be an effective treatment for numerous mental health disorders, although research on its efficacy in combat-related PTSD in veterans is very limited. Methods The study population consisted of 30 US military veterans with combat-related...
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder affecting numerous U.S. citizens, but conventional interventions have shown limited success in treating PTSD symptoms (e.g., high dropout rates). Various meditative techniques have been used as alternative interventions to treat PTSD, demonstrating that these interventions have strong potential to improve symptoms and...
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often difficult to treat, and many patients do not achieve full remission. Complementary and integrative health approaches, such as mindfulness meditation, are intended to be integrated with evidence-based treatment. This study examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in the treatment of PTSD in U.S. military veterans. Veterans...