Trauma Blog

Do disorders comorbid with PTSD differ between servicemen and women?
Psychological comorbidity, or when mental health disorders co-occur, is an important health issue because it is common and may negatively affect quality of life and treatment for individuals with more than one disorder. Approximately 80% of both civilians and active duty military service members with posttraumatic stress disorder have a comorbid disorder. Further understanding which comorbid disorders most commonly present with PTSD—and among whom—is critical for developing treatments that directly address these symptom presentations to improve functioning for those with psychological comorbidity. 

Do disorders comorbid with PTSD differ between servicemen and women?
Psychological comorbidity, or when mental health disorders co-occur, is an important health issue because it is common and may negatively affect quality of life and treatment for individuals with more than one disorder. Approximately 80% of both civilians and active duty military service members with posttraumatic stress disorder have a comorbid disorder. Further understanding which comorbid disorders most commonly present with PTSD—and among whom—is critical for developing treatments that directly address these symptom presentations to improve functioning for those with psychological comorbidity. 

President's Message
The New Year is a time marked by reflections of the past and hopes for the future. I am truly honored to serve as ISTSS President. I am humbled to stand on the shoulders of the giants who have come before me to build and guide ISTSS into the premier traumatic stress organization that it is, one that so many of us call our professional home. 

Increasing Visibility of Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals in Trauma and PTSD Research
It is estimated that approximately 1.4 million people in the United States identify as transgender, including approximately 140,000 veterans and service members (Gates & Herman, 2014; Herman et al., 2017). However, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals are often not reflected in research studies, either as a function of researchers not gathering expansive gender identity demographic information or not reporting this information in their published reports. For example, the PTSD Trials Standardized Data Repository includes information on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including study information, outcomes, and sample characteristics. As of 2022, of 390 RCTs targeting PTSD, zero studies reported participants’ gender identities other than “male” or “female” and only one reported sexual orientation.

A Neglected Aspect of Refugee Relief Works: Secondary and Vicarious Traumatic Stress
With the number of refugees (about 80 million at present) increasing in the world recently, the need for refugee service providers (e.g., doctors, psychotherapists, lawyers, interpreters) to support this group and the workload of refugee service providers have also increased. Adverse effects of working with traumatized individuals on mental health are known. The most prominent effects are Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Vicarious Traumatic Stress (VTS).

Considerations for treating military-affiliated patients for PTSD in community clinics
Globally, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant mental health issue among military service members and veterans. Within the US, around 13% of veterans have a PTSD diagnosis, with the prevalence of PTSD increasing significantly post-9/11 with conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in about 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans having PTSD.
 

Student Perspectives: What is #TraumaTok?‎
StressPoints
Outside academic spaces and therapy offices, trauma has been a growing topic on social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and now TikTok all have trauma content. In these online spaces, formal content (e.g., scientific articles, infographics, video conferences) is mingled with informal content on trauma (e.g., quotes from bestseller books on trauma, memes, personal stories). Whether formal or informal, online content on trauma seemingly brings together the perspectives of practitioners, researchers, coaches, and trauma survivors. The topic seems to be getting a lot of visibility. For instance, #trauma and #ptsd have millions of publications on Instagram. YouTube channels on trauma or subtopics of trauma (e.g., Complex Trauma Recovery, Attachment Trauma, Betrayal Trauma) have hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of views. Some specialized forums on Reddit (i.e., subreddits) are dedicated to PTSD or C-PTSD and are organized with a set of rules and posting guidelines; they offer peer-to-peer support and have hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

Trauma and World Literature: Walt Whitman’s “The Wound Dresser”
StressPoints
Perhaps 25 years ago, I spent an afternoon sorting through Duke University’s collection of Walt Whitman’s personal papers searching for anything he had written during the American Civil War (1861 – 1865). I knew that Whitman worked with casualties in army hospitals and, given that I was a psychiatrist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina (just a 15-minute walk from the University library where Whitman’s papers were stored), I hoped to find some observation of Whitman’s that could help me better understand the veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War in my clinic.