Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness

Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness

Succinctly, in 1–2 pages, address the following:

• Briefly explain the neurobiological basis for PTSD illness.
• Discuss the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for PTSD and relate these criteria to the symptomology presented in the case study. Does the video case presentation provide sufficient information to derive a PTSD diagnosis? Justify your reasoning. Do you agree with the other diagnoses in the case presentation? Why or why not?
• Discuss one other psychotherapy treatment option for the client in this case study. Explain whether your treatment option is considered a “gold standard treatment” from a clinical practice guideline perspective, and why using gold standard, evidence-based treatments from clinical practice guidelines is important for psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners. Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness

Support your Assignment with specific examples from this week’s media and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.

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definitively, advances in pharmacology and other alternative treatment options such as therapy
dogs have also shown potential to reduce or possibly prevent PTSD completely.
Stigma and Early Treatment
PTSD is a relative new diagnosis. Medical professionals in the early to mid 1900s were
uncertain as to which new treatment would do better. A majority of mental health providers at
that time were not military members, but rather civilian psychiatrists. (Jones 2005) noted that
these civilian doctors faced moral and ethical dilemmas when treating military patients because
finding the military member fit for duty, would most likely be signing their death certificate.
Advancements in the mental health field, as well as more detailed data analysis have helped
mental health providers better recognize and treat combat-related PTSD. As long as there is
trauma and traumatic events, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may exist. The name has
changed throughout time, from “shellshock” to PSTD as well as ways of treating the disorder.
Regardless of the name or treatment, the effect it has on people has remained constant. The
actual number of people who suffer from this disorder is most certainly higher than any numbers
reported this is due to many people being either scared or ashamed to admit they have a problem.
Advancements in treatments, have provided victims of this disorder hope of a brighter future. To
fully understand the benefits and direction of treatments, we first look at the history of the
disorder, and understand of how we got to where we are today with treatment. As of December
2012, over 131,000 active duty service members are diagnosed with PTSD. Additionally, nearly
30% of Veterans receiving care at VA medical cent
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broken down for military members by the conflict in which they served. Between 11 and 20% of
Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom have PTSD.
Veterans who served in the Gulf War were affected at nearly 12%, while 15% of Vietnam
Veterans are affected annually, even now, more than 40 years later (U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs, n.d.). Studies of combat-related PTSD have increased substantially within the last two
decades, creating more reliable data for determining risk factors, comorbidity rates, and possible
prevention of the disorder in the future. These are the people that are included in studies and
trying to find treatments that are able to assist them to live a more comfortable life when
returning from combat with the sights that have reoccurring visions within themselves.
We need to study whether it is traditional or nontraditional treatments that work best for
the veteran, also whether it be on an individual, one on one basis, or in support groups or if it just
needs to be a pharmacology. Currently, the de facto VA approved PTSD therapy consists of
Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), or a combination of the two
(Kip et al., 2013). While better than previous treatment methods, these two are not without
significant disadvantages. Both are lengthy, expensive and have variable rates of completion.
As well as the possibility of the patient to backslide while in the program making the treatment
continue to be long. Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness
Accelerated Resolution Therapy
In a limited sample size, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) has proven to produce
more positive results and a much higher completion rate among patients (Kip et al., 2013). This
PE is more advanced for of CPT combined with PE. consists of 10 sessions of 90 minutes each,
and homework assignments. The drop out rate for PE is nearly 50%, with nonresponse rates as
high as 67%. CPT is even longer, consisting of 12 sessions of 60-90 minutes. The drop out and
POST TRAMATIC STRESS DISORDER 5
nonresponse rates for CPT is much lower compared to PE, but still quite high. In contrast, ART
is completed 80% faster, consisting of only 2-5 sessions over 2 weeks, and showed significantly
higher reductions of symptoms over PE or CPT.
ART combines portions of PE and CPT along with methods not covered in the other two,
in significantly less time. As stated above, where PE and CPT take anywhere from 10-12
sessions at up to 90 minuets per session and additional homework assignments, ART is
completed in 2-5 sessions over a 2 week period (Kip et al., 2013). Shorter treatment time has
shown to produce a significantly lower dropout rate than the other two as well. ART is still
relatively new, having only been used since 2008. More studies will have to be completed to
verify the early results, but if the initial trends continue, it would be wise for the VA to declare
this the new standard.
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
Aside from time, cost, and completion rates, the current methods also have shown
significant drawbacks regarding overall effectiveness as well. (Nelson 2012) believes there are a
couple main reasons for this ineffectiveness. He proposes that in many cases, service members
especially, have completely blocked out the memories of the traumatic events, rendering CPT
essentially ineffective. Another identified cause for the ineffectiveness of current methods is the
difficulty of imagining these horrific real-life events while in a quiet, calm, safe therapist’s office
environment. This is where Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) can be an effective
alternative. Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness
VRET creates experiences that stimulate more of the patient’s senses, allowing them to
feel like they are really there, while in reality they are still in a safe, controlled environment.
VRET allows for precise control of exposure intensity and can be gradually increased as patients
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become more comfortable (Nelson, 2012). Patients wear headsets that allow them to move
through virtual landscapes as if they were actually there. Sounds and even smells are also
tailored to provide the most realistic experience possible. As the video platform continues to
improve, these experiences will become more effective, and will continue to prove helpful for a
wider demographic of patients.
The current VRET system is being upgraded and expanded in order to provide care not
only for service members who experienced direct enemy combat, but also to medics and
corpsmen (Rizzo et al., 2014). Expanding the exposure scenarios to include this demographic of
combat medics is extremely important. Although they may not participate directly in combat,
they do see the devastation caused by war arguably more than anyone else in the unit. (Rizzo et
al. 2014) emphasizes the importance of expanding VRET treatment to medics due to the fact that
they are permanently assigned to a unit, so they have close personal relationships with those they
have to treat, as opposed to traditional civilian hospital doctors who rarely know their patients.
As with ART, this type of therapy is also relatively new, but initial reports have shown this could
also be a viable, and more effective course of treatment for service members suffering from
combat-related PTSD over standard treatment methods today.
Pharmacology
Medical cannabis is becoming a more prevalent treatment option for certain diagnosed
conditions. It is a topic of discussion that elicits passionate debate from advocates and
opposition alike. As of 2014, at least 21 states had passed laws allowing the use of medical
marijuana, although it was, and still is illegal at the federal level (Bohnert et al., 2014). In
addition, three states had included PTSD as one of the medical conditions that qualified for
medical cannabis use. It is still too early to determine if there are any long-term benefits or risks
POST TRAMATIC STRESS DISORDER 7
to this potential alternative treatment method. However, it is worth noting that nearly 25% of
first time applicants for medical cannabis had also been diagnosed with PTSD (Bohnert et al.,
2014).
An article written one year later challenged the hypothesis above that marijuana use
improved PTSD symptoms. (Wilkinson 2015) stated that nearly 13,000 patients with diagnosed
PTSD participated in a study to determine the effects of increased marijuana use and severity of
PTSD symptoms. The study found that while patients subjectively felt marijuana use improved
symptoms, it actually made them worse in the long run. Patients were split into 4 categories
based on past, current and continued use. Those who had not used before the study but started
after showed significant increases in violent behavior (Wilkinson, 2015). The article did
however say that the use of purely cannabinoid products (the actual part of the marijuana plant
that has proven to have medicinal value) has proven to have positive results. Other studies
indicate positive results to several pharmacological treatments targeted at regulating naturally
occurring chemicals and conditions in the brain related to arousal in response to fear, anxiety,
startle response, depression, and so on. (Searcy, Bobadilla, Gordon, Jacques, & Elliot, 2012 )
suggest that these medicines could have extremely positive, and cost effective, results as
secondary preventive measures for PTSD. Primary preventive measures should continue to
focus on psychosocial interventions conducted immediately upon returning from deployments
Conclusion
As more veterans are seeking out the non-traditional approach of treating PTSD, it would
be beneficial to create a treatment approach that incorporates both the traditional evidence-based
treatment approach and the complementary and alternative approach. An Army Base in El Paso
Texas used to have such a program that was offered through the Warrior Resilience Center where
POST TRAMATIC STRESS DISORDER 8 Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness
service members with combat related PTSD attended a four-week intensive treatment program
that incorporated both the evidence-based as well as the alternative approach. By incorporating
both treatment approaches, veterans are able to learn to cope with the disorder, relearn to feel
safe in their environment, as well as learn different tools to help them when they feel anxious or
are in a stressful situation. Using a rather holistic approach would be more beneficial to veterans
than using only one or the other.
Overall, these studies have shown the efforts to help veterans who have been suffering
from PTSD to find relief of their debilitating conditions. None of these approaches are either
good nor bad, they all work in their own way but the most important piece is that the veterans
who receive the treatment must be willing to get better. No treatment method will bring results if
the veteran who received the treatment does not believe in the treatment, doesn’t think it’s
working for them, or are not willing to do the work necessary to get better. The licensed
professionals can only do so much to help the veterans but the real work has to be done by the
veteran themselves. Many studies have been documented over the years regarding PTSD
treatment, but there has been little to no research regarding prevention. PTSD diagnoses in the
military are nearly 4 times higher than in the civilian population with hundreds of thousands of
people affected (Searcy, Bobadilla, Gordon, Jacques, & Elliot, 2012). Post trauma treatment is
crucial, and new techniques should continue to be developed, but if there is a way to prevent the
disorder ahead of time, that should be the primary focus.
Results from the causality category of hypothesis were that even if the relationship did
exist, it would be impossible to determine the direction of causality (Stander et al., 2014).
POST TRAMATIC STRESS DISORDER 9
Results from the common factors hypothesis category determined that there are common risks
and vulnerabilities, but (Stander et al. 2014) could not conclusively prove a relationship between
risk factors, in particular combat exposure, or vulnerabilities of PTSD and depression.
The most definitive findings were from the confounding factors hypothesis category. These
results most accurately determined that it is unlikely these two disorders are completely
coincidental. However, factors such as medical provider bias, patient expectations, self-reporting
subjectivity, and indistinct diagnostic criteria create artificial associations between the two
(Stander et al., 2014).
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References
Bohnert, K. M., Perron, B. E., Ashrafioun, L., Kleinberg, F., Jannausch, M., & Ilgen, M. A.
(2014). Positive posttraumatic stress disorder screens among first-time medical cannabis
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