The Development and Experience of Combat‐Related PTSD: A Demand for Neurofeedback as an Effective Form of Treatment

Abstract

Veterans experience a considerable course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and because of several psychosocial issues, traditional interventions and traditional intervention settings are ineffective for this population. A new cutting‐edge approach, known as neurofeedback, trains clients to control and manipulate their central nervous system and ameliorate physiological symptoms of stress disorders. The authors delineate how neurofeedback can be an effective and innovative intervention for PTSD experienced by the military population.

Inducing targeted brain states utilizing merged reality systems

“…This immersion could be toward training individuals to deal with stressful conditions (such as post-traumatic stress disorder [18]) or controlling body reactions, on demand.…”

Examining Changes in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Substance Use Among a Sample of Canadian Veterans Working with Service Dogs: An Exploratory Patient- Oriented Longitudinal Study

“…Veterans rarely seek mental health services (Hoge et al, 2014) and dropout rates for those who do seek treatment for PTSD are around 50% (Schottenbauer et al, 2008). Potential reasons for dropout and/or poor participation in treatments among veterans include: (a) the need for a high number and lengthy duration of intervention sessions; (b) desire to not be seen as "weak" by seeking treatment; (c) avoidance and/or denial of trauma experiences; (d) poor therapeutic relationships between veterans and clinicians; and (e) desire to not include PTSD diagnosis/treatment in formal records (Fragedakis & Toriello, 2014). Stigma related to mental health issues in the military can also create barriers to help seeking and delay treatment for PTSD among veterans (Dell et al, 2017;Hoge et al, 2014).…”

Efficacy of Neurofeedback Interventions for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Brain Injury: Systematic Review and Recommendations for Future Research

“…There is evidence to suggest that NFTs may impart general benefits, such as encouraging better regulation of physiological arousal (Fragedakis & Toriello, 2014), decreasing anxiety (Moore, 2000), increasing positive mood (Raymond, Varney, Parkinson, & Gruzelier, 2005), and improving attentional function (Norris, Lee, Burshteyn, & Cea-Aravena, 2008). Given that these domains are nonspecific and common across a number of conditions, it is not surprising that NFTs have been applied to conditions as diverse as fibromyalgia (Kayiran, Dursun, Dursun, Ermutlu, & Karamürsel,, 2010), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Fragedakis & Toriello, 2014;Gapen et al, 2016), schizophrenia (Surmeli, Ertem, Eralp, & Kos, 2012), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Gevensleben et al, 2014;Meisel, Servera, Garcia-Banda, Cardo, & Moreno, 2014).…”