VA Looking At Physical Treatments For PTSD

PTSD help has to be about the whole veteran. Mind, body and spirit. All three require attention and most experts have been talking about the need to re-teach the body to adjust by adding physical therapy.

VA weighs PTSD care that avoids traumatic memories
Stars and Stripes
By Steven Beardsley
Published: August 17, 2015

VA researchers in Minneapolis found that a group of PTSD patients enrolled in a program with yoga and breathing meditation over nine weeks reported greater improvement in symptoms than their counterparts in a control group that taught coping skills.

NAPLES, Italy — Revisiting a traumatic event in a therapy session can open a door to relief for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. But confronting bad memories may not be the answer for everyone.

After years of emphasizing trauma-focused psychotherapy as a preferred treatment for PTSD, researchers and clinicians with the Department of Veterans Affairs are considering forms of therapy that steer clear of traumatic memories, including those focusing on mindfulness.

Although relatively new and backed by less research than other therapies, the treatments could expand practitioners’ options and could offer patients a greater say in their care, a top VA clinician said. That, in turn, could lead to better outcomes.

“I think the coming years will be a maturation of the field, the realization that there’s more than one door,” said Harold Kudler, chief consultant for VA Mental Health Services.

“I think in the rush to do good and the belief in what they do, you’ll hear, ‘Well this is good therapy, you should do this,’ ” Kudler said. “The part that is missing is the patient. Therapy is about the patient. Working with veterans is always about the veterans.”
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