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Reis R, Ortega F. [Trauma and literality: psychodynamic reason in the spirit of neuroscientific traumatization]. CIENCIA & SAUDE COLETIVA 2024; 29:e19502022. [PMID: 38324841 DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232024292.19502022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Since its origin in the surgical medicine of the 17th century, trauma research has had multiple interpretations and has been associated either with visible injuries to organs and tissues, or with the influence of pathogenic psychic agents on memory, consciousness and personality. With the intensification of the role of classification systems since DSM-III, the phenomenon of trauma came to be incorporated into the psychiatric realm through Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and destined finally to the constraints of neuroscientific research. Based on a narrative review, this article will address one of the fundamental epistemological premises for this transition, which informs how psychological trauma gained autonomy over anatomical descriptions to be reclassified, around a century later, as an essentially bodily phenomenon and incorporated into the jargon of neurosciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Reis
- Departamento de Saúde Mental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Av. Aluizio da Silva Gomes 50, Granja dos Cavaleiros. 27930-560 Macaé RJ Brasil.
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies. Barcelona Espanha
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Are mental health awareness efforts contributing to the rise in reported mental health problems? A call to test the prevalence inflation hypothesis. NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2023.101010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
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Claudius M, Shino EN, Job S, Hofmann D, Thalmayer AG. Still Standing Inside: A Local Idiom Related to Trauma among Namibian Speakers of Khoekhoegowab. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14323. [PMID: 36361207 PMCID: PMC9657148 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Euro-centric psychiatric conceptualizations often ignore the interplay of local with universal factors in psychological suffering. Emic, locally focused perspectives can enrich etic knowledge to provide culturally sensitive care and to better elucidate the role of culture in mental illness. This study explored the idiom Tsûsa ǃNaeǃkhais xa hâǃnâ/mâǃnâ/ǂgâǃnâhe hâ (a terrible event has entered a person and remains standing inside), which was understood to relate to experiences of trauma and post-traumatic stress, among speakers of Khoekhoegowab, a southern-African click language. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants from six urban and rural communities in Namibia. Questions probed perceptions of the idiom in terms of etiology, course, and risk and resilience factors from a socio-ecological framework. Five key themes were identified using thematic analysis: origin in a shocking event; intrusive recurrence of memories, "it keeps on coming back"; the close interplay between mental and physical suffering; the importance of active engagement in healing through prayer and acceptance; and the role of the community in both alleviating and amplifying distress. Our findings highlight local norms and strategies for adaptive coping, and the benefits of exploring local idioms to elucidate the braiding together of universal and cultural elements in psychological distress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Claudius
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology and Professional Counseling, Webster University Geneva, 1293 Bellevue, Switzerland
| | - Elizabeth N. Shino
- Department of Psychology and Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences & Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek 10026, Namibia
| | - Sylvanus Job
- Department of Humanities and Arts, Faculty of Education & Human Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek 10026, Namibia
| | - Daniel Hofmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Amber Gayle Thalmayer
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Jackson HJ, Haslam N. Ill-defined: Concepts of mental health and illness are becoming broader, looser, and more benign. Australas Psychiatry 2022; 30:490-493. [PMID: 35156400 DOI: 10.1177/10398562221077898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We argue that mental health-related concepts have become degraded within professional circles and in the wider community. We identify three trends: concept creep, the rise of broad umbrella concepts (e.g. distress and trauma), and the conflation of mental health with well-being, which marginalises serious mental illness. We speculate on the causes of these trends, including cultural shifts towards greater sensitivity to harm and the rise of wellness industries. Contributing factors within psychiatry include overdiagnosis, dimensional models and transdiagnostic perspectives. CONCLUSIONS These trends may lead to inflated demands on services from those at the milder end of the psychopathological spectrum. We set out seven measures that mental health professionals can take to resist trends towards broad concepts of mental illness and limit some of their adverse consequences.
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Harper CA, Purser H, Baguley T. Do Concepts Creep to the Left and the Right? Evidence for Ideologically Salient Concept Breadth Judgments Across the Political Spectrum. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/19485506221104643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Concept creep explains how established social concepts expand to incorporate new phenomena, with such expansions fundamentally changing conceptual definitions and contributing to a loss of a shared social understanding. However, the existing work has focused on concept creep within a small number of categories that are typically more salient for those on the political left. In this work, we examined whether concept creep is a predominantly leftist phenomenon, or whether the same conceptual expansion is present for typically conservative-salient categories, by exploring judgments of concept breadth for a range of social topics. We found evidence for such symmetry when considering concept breadth for categories such as sexual deviance, terrorism, and personal responsibility—with some nuanced exceptions. We discuss our findings in relation to growing political polarization, intergroup relations, and the study of partisan differences using a variety of politically salient stimuli.
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Greene LR. The Research-Practice Psychotherapy Wars: The Case of Group Psychotherapy in the Treatment of PTSD. Int J Group Psychother 2021; 71:393-423. [PMID: 38449227 DOI: 10.1080/00207284.2021.1890088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
In light of two recent meta-analyses of the efficacy of group psychotherapy in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this article critically reviews the randomized control trial (RCT) generated findings as well as two of its outgrowths-the production of a variety of clinical practice guidelines for treating PTSD and the dissemination efforts to transfer laboratory findings to clinical practice. All three of these activities have received considerable pushback from experienced clinicians and Boulder-identified scientist practitioners, creating an ongoing and entrenched gap or split between researcher and clinician. The article also reviews the various suggestions that have been offered to heal this gap and ending the hegemony of RCT outcome research as the only game in town for declaring what constitutes evidence. Specifically, the literature suggests two primary strategies for helping to realize the scientist-practitioner model and thus advancing the cause of psychotherapy, in general, and group psychotherapy, in particular: (a) leveling the playing field so that both researcher and practitioner have real authority and voices for shaping the field; and (b) shifting the research priority away from a purely outcome focus, asking only does it work, and moving to a more sophisticated, theoretically guided empirical study of process-outcome, examining the how, why, when, and for whom it works.
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Kimble M, Flack W, Koide J, Bennion K, Brenneman M, Meyersburg C. Student reactions to traumatic material in literature: Implications for trigger warnings. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247579. [PMID: 33765044 PMCID: PMC7993791 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION While trigger warnings have garnered significant debate, few studies have investigated how students typically respond to potentially triggering material. METHOD In this study, three hundred and fifty-five undergraduate students from four universities read a passage describing incidences of both physical and sexual assault. Longitudinal measures of subjective distress, PTSD symptoms, and emotional reactivity were taken. RESULTS Greater than 96% of participants read the triggering passage even when given a non-triggering alternative to read. Of those who read the triggering passage, those with triggering traumas did not report more distress although those with higher PTSD scores did. Two weeks later, those with trigger traumas and/or PTSD did not report an increase in trauma symptoms as a result of reading the triggering passage. CONCLUSIONS Students with relevant traumas do not avoid triggering material and the effects appear to be brief. Students with PTSD do not report an exacerbation of symptoms two weeks later as a function of reading the passage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Kimble
- Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - William Flack
- Department of Psychology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Jennifer Koide
- Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Kelly Bennion
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, United States of America
| | - Miranda Brenneman
- Department of Psychology, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Cynthia Meyersburg
- Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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McNally RJ. Posttraumatic stress disorder as a growth industry: Comment on Asmundson and Asmundson (2018). J Anxiety Disord 2018; 56:14-16. [PMID: 29859658 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Asmundson and Asmundson's (2018) bibliometric study demonstrates that the anxiety disorders remain a major focus of clinical research. Yet striking differences emerged among these syndromes. For example, in contrast to panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder has increasingly flourished as a major focus of publications. The purpose of my commentary is to discuss the basis for the remarkable success of traumatology relative to other areas (e.g., panic disorder research).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J McNally
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
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McNally RJ. Resolving the vulnerability paradox in the cross-national prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder. J Anxiety Disord 2018; 54:33-35. [PMID: 29421370 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2017] [Revised: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals are at heightened risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to trauma. Yet a study of cross-national lifetime prevalence rates of PTSD revealed that countries scoring high on an index reflecting cultural and socioeconomic disadvantage exhibited lower rates of PTSD in response to trauma, evincing what the authors called "a vulnerability paradox in the cross-national prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder" Dückers, Alisic, & Brewin (2016a, p. 300). Drawing on classic studies in sociology and political science concerning the ecological fallacy, the author suggests ways to resolve the striking paradox discovered by Dückers et al.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J McNally
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
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Abstract
The first part of the series of three articles on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Court to appear in the journal reviews the history of the construct of PTSD and its presentation in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and the ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition; World Health Organization, 2018). There are 20 symptoms of PTSD in the DSM-5. PTSD symptoms are arranged into a four-cluster model, which has received partial support in the literature. Other four-factor models have been found that fit the data even better than that of the DSM-5. There is a five-factor dysphoria model and two six-factor models that have been found to fit better the DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. Finally, research is providing support for a hybrid seven-factor model. An eighth factor on dissociation seems applicable to the minority of people who express the dissociative subtype. At the epidemiological level, individuals can expect trauma exposure to take place about 70% over one's lifetime. Also, traumatic exposure leads to traumatic reactions in about 10% of cases, with PTSD being a primary diagnosis for trauma. Once initiated, PTSD becomes prolonged in about 10% of cases. Polytrauma and comorbidities complicate these prevalence statistics. Moreover, the possibility of malingered PTSD presents confounds. However, the estimate for malingered PTSD varies extensively, from 1 to 50%, so that the estimate is too imprecise for use in court without further research. This first article in the series of three articles appearing in the journal on PTSD in Court concludes with discussion of complications related to comorbidities and heterogeneities, in particular. For example, PTSD and its comorbidities can be expressed in over one quintillion ways. This complexity in its current structure in the DSM-5 speaks to the individual differences involved in its expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald Young
- Glendon Campus, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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