Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Adcances

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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder & Its Advances Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects 11-20% of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 10% of Gulf War veterans and 30% of Vietnam War veterans. With many young men and women shipping off to join the military service, the thought of being one of the 20 out of 100 coming back from the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to suffer from PTSD is a scary thought. Little is known about PTSD and all major research being done on PTSD has been completed in only the last 30 years. This excludes many of the veterans of World War 1 and World War 2, the most gruesome war in the last century. The government is steadily increasing the benefits and services available to veterans suffering from PTSD symptoms little by little. What is known about PTSD is that it affects many individuals in society today. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. Being that many war veterans risk their lives daily, it is only suspected that veterans would have more noted cases of PTSD. The advancement of treatment of PTSD is mainly focused on group mental health therapy. A victim of PTSD sits with a therapist and learns how to deal with painful memories. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) psychologists diagnosis many patients yearly as veterans receive health benefits long after they leave the service. Veterans who are diagnosed at a facility and live near a facility can receive treatment from trained professionals but what about the veterans who live in areas located far away from VA facilities? Advancements in technology such as telemedicine communications that connects the patient and therapist via ... ... middle of paper ... ... M.S.N., F.N.P.-C. "Health Disparities in Military Veterans with PTSD: Influential Sociocultural Factors." Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services 46.6 (2008): 43-51. "PTSD: National Center for PTSD." How Common Is PTSD? -. N.p., n.d. Satel, Sally. "PTSD's Diagnostic Trap." Policy Review.165 (2011): 41-53. Shiner, B, et al. "Access To VA Services For Returning Veterans With PTSD." Military Medicine 177.7 (2012): 814-822. CINAHL Complete. Strachan, Martha., Gross, Daniel F., Yuen, Erica., Ruggiero, Kenneth J., Foa, Edna B., Acierno, Ron. “Home-based telehealth to deliver evidence-based psychotherapy in veterans with PTSD.” Contemporary Clinical Trials. Volume 33. Issue 2. March 2012. Pages 402-409. Wood, Debra. "Teleservices improve access to PTSD treatment." Telemedicine and e-Health 16.6 (2010): 654+. Health Reference Center Academic.

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