Research showed that more than 30% of patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) do not benefit from evidence- based treatments: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). These are patients with prolonged and multiple traumatization, with poor verbal memory, and patients with emotional over-modulation. Retelling traumatic experiences in detail is poorly tolerated by these patients and might be a reason for not starting or not completing the recommended treatments. Due to lack of evidence, no alternative treatments are recommended yet. Art therapy may offer an alternative and suitable treatment, because the nonverbal and experiential character of art therapy appears to be an appropriate approach to the often wordless and visual nature of traumatic memories. The objective of this pilot study was to test the acceptability, feasibility, and applicability of trauma-focused art therapy for adults with PTSD due to multiple and prolonged traumatization (patients with early childhood traumatization and refugees from different cultures). Another objective was to identify the preliminary effectiveness of art therapy. Results showed willingness to participate and adherence to treatment of patients. Therapists considered trauma-focused art therapy feasible and applicable and patients reported beneficial effects, such as more relaxation, externalization of memories and emotions into artwork, less intrusive thoughts of traumatic experiences and more confidence in the future. The preliminary findings on PTSD symptom severity showed a decrease of symptoms in some participants, and an increase of symptoms in other participants. Further research into the effectiveness of art therapy and PTSD is needed.
"A proportion of those with eating disorders have also experienced traumatic events and ongoing symptoms of PTSD such as re-experiencing of the trauma and nightmares. We implemented an innovative trauma intervention called Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) to explore whether for those undergoing inpatient treatment for an eating disorder (in an underweight phase), it would be possible to treat the various trauma-related symptoms as well as the eating problems. Since this has not been investigated before, we asked the participants in this study to recount their experiences. Twelve participants who were underweight, reported a past history of trauma and were in an inpatient eating disordertreatment program participated in ImRs therapy intervention. One of these participant did not engage in the ImRs therapy because she discontinued the inpatient ED treatment. Analysis of interviews with these participants found that -although they were reluctant before the start of the treatment- the ImRs treatment during their inpatient admission had given them hope again. They added that it was important to have support from group members, sociotherapists and therapists. They shared a number of ways that the ImRs treatment could be adapted to people with eating disorders. Their experiences indicated that given these factors it was possible to treat PTSD during an underweight phase. This is important: until now, treatment for eating disorders has not specifically been trauma-focused and these tips have scope to improve the ImRs intervention and eating disorder treatment more broadly in the future."
MULTIFILE
Long-term absenteeism is a persistent problem in the police organisation in the Netherlands. Around 4% of staff has been absent for over three months. For the National Police's Enhancing Professional Resilience programme, we conducted research into opportunities for increasing people's resilience when returning to work after such a long period of absenteeism. This research provides suggestions for dealing with the problem of long-term absenteeism effectively. The following issues turned out to be important: the scope of employees of their reintegration process, reciprocity in the relationship between line manager and police employee, greater knowledge of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its causes and finally, dealing with diversity in the organisation in an active manner.
