Pearson et al. / My Invisible PTSD Pg. 2 understanding the barriers or facilitators to accessing treatment (Murphy, Hunt, Luzon & Greenberg, 2013). Research suggests that a common barrier to seeking treatment is stigma (Iversen et al., 2011). Additionally, self-stigmatising beliefs are a common barrier for veterans who report not seeking help, as doing so would cause them to feel weak (Sharpe et al., 2015). The role of stigmatizing beliefs in help-seeking has largely been investigated quantitatively, finding a strong, negative relationship between self-stigma and help-seeking in the veteran population (Coleman, Stevelink, Hatch, Denny, & Greenberg, 2017; Murphy, Palmer & Busuttill, 2016). There is a paucity of research investigating the factors that enable veterans to seek help. However, studies suggest that some factors that compel veterans to seek treatment include: family and friends, psychoeducation, severity of symptoms, and level of distress (Sayer et al., 2009; Pilkington, Msetfi & Watson, 2011; Kim, Britt, Klocko, Riviere, & Adler, 2011). Yet research is sparse into the experiences of these veterans who do access treatment for PTSD and what their lives are like beyond treatment; do they experience recovery and, if so, what supports this process or makes it more challenging? (Iversen et al., 2009). Young and Ensing (1999) defined recovery as an individual's unique journey to overcoming "stuckness," improving their quality of life, and redefining themselves following distress. This research also highlights the importance of spirituality and supportive relationships when seeking help for mental health difficulties, along with a return to basic functioning (e.g., taking care of oneself, eating) as symbolic of being "recovered" (Young & Ensing, 1999). In comparison, some researchers link recovery with post-traumatic growth (PTG), which has been described as the positive changes that some people experience following exposure to traumatic events, such as enhanced personal strength or spiritual change (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Research suggests that there is a relationship between improvements in symptoms of PTSD and depression with regard to higher levels of PTG (Murphy et al., 2016). Brewin, Garnett, and Andrews (2011) undertook a mixed-methods analysis of veteran's views on their lives post-treatment; they found themes that link with the idea of PTG such as enhanced relationships. However, the study is limited, as the aim was not for thorough exploration of veterans' recovery experiences, thus factors which may have brought about change were not studied. Further research is needed into the actual experiences of veterans who seek treatment and how they define their experience of recovery. The present study aims to qualitatively investigate three main questions: how do veterans make sense of their lives following a diagnosis of PTSD? What factors facilitated their pathway to recovery? And what challenges have they experienced during their process of recovery? Methods The qualitative methodology Interpretive Ph...
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in military veterans have been linked with a high level of impairment in psychological, functional, and social exclusion measures (Iversen et al., 2011). In addition, treatment for veterans with PTSD has been found to be less effective than in non-military populations (Kitchiner et al., 2012). As well as being less effective, drop-out rates, and non-response to treatment rates are high in this group (Schottenbauer et al., 2008). This has been seen to have a high financial impact (Currier et al., 2014), thus research into understanding effective treatment for this population would be advantageous. Research has suggested that offering intensive treatment programmes (for example, 18 sessions of therapy are offered over a six-week period rather than an 18-week period), could improve the efficacy and engagement with PTSD treatment (Schnyder et al., 2015). In addition to intensity of treatment, the inclusion of a group aspect has been found to be beneficial. In the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada, and Australia, treatment programmes for veterans with PTSD that consist of trauma-focused therapy combined with group therapy have reported significant improvements in symptoms, and these gains are maintained at follow-up (Murphy et al., 2015; Chard et al., 2010; Richardson et al., 2014; Forbes et al., 2008). It has been found that during treatment, group cohesion significantly predicted outcomes for military personnel receiving inpatient group PTSD treatment (Ellis et al., 2014). Research has reported that this may be associated with the social aspects of group therapy, such as being around others with similar experiences, enhanced
Objective:To compare an oral form of a speed of information processing (SolP) test with its motor equivalent.Method:Oral and motor versions of the BMIPB SolP test were administered to a non-clinical sample (N=100).Results:There was a strong positive correlation between the oral and the motor versions of the test.Conclusion:The oral SolP test is a valid measure of mental processing speed and is useful for assessing those with motor impairments. N.B. Please note that registered users of the BIRT Information and Processing Battery (BMIPB) may obtain a digital copy of the oral speed test by contacting the corresponding author onSara.daSilvaRamos@thedtgroup.org.
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