Oh Gee, "PTSD Treatments Spotty Success" Is News?

There is no cure for PTSD and there is no "one size fits all" treatment. Treatment has to include the whole veteran. Focus on their mind, body and spirit. Leave out the spirit and they cannot take their power back from PTSD. Trauma changes everyone to different degrees and the goal should always be to help them change for the better again. Talk therapy works if it is done right, otherwise, it is pretty useless.

Kevlar for the Mind: Some PTSD treatments have spotty success
Military Times
By Bret A. Moore, Special to Military Times
December 7, 2015

Kevlar for the Mind (Photo: Thinkstock/Staff)

Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most complex and troubling psychiatric issues that veterans face. Roughly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan vets are diagnosed with the disorder; veterans of the Persian Gulf and Vietnam wars face comparable rates.

Preferred talk therapy treatments for PTSD include cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure. Generally referred to as CPT and PE, these first-line treatments focus on the traumatic event as a way to reduce distress. They are the most studied treatments for service members, and guidelines for behavioral health clinicians in the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments recommend use of these types of treatments for PTSD.

But a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that these trauma-focused therapies may not be as effective as originally touted.

Researchers reviewed three dozen studies of veterans and active-duty troops spanning 35 years. After analyzing data from nearly 900 individuals diagnosed with PTSD who received one-on-one or group therapy, the study revealed two important results: About two-thirds of troops continued to meet criteria for a PTSD diagnosis after “successful” treatment, and one out of four dropped out of the treatment.
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