New articles shed light on PTSD, other mental health problems

Published today in the open access European Journal of Psychotraumatology is a collection of articles that offer rare and unique insight into the often fiercely debated topic of deployment related PTSD and associated mental health problems. 

A wide range of issues in three primary themes are explored in the papers: the prevalence of mental health problems; advances in understanding deployment-related consequences from a biological perspective; and therapeutic interventions.

The works draw upon research derived or sponsored by various militaries or Veterans Affairs organizations globally and include information that is often difficult to obtain and rarely considered in academic volumes, according to Dr. Rachel Yehuda, director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at Mount Sinai Hospital's Icahn School of Medicine in New York. Yehuda, a globally recognized expert in the field of traumatic stress and PTSD, penned the introduction and co-authored several papers in the collection.

"This volume of work encompasses information contributed by colleagues from a wide range of setting; such as internal inquiries intended to aid military operations, academic experts, and clinical practitioners - and this is unique to an academic work of this nature," Yehuda said. "Many debates about prevalence of PTSD, treatment, and biology have very important implications for policy making and funding decisions for military servicepersons, veterans, and their families; thus it is critical to bring in discussion from many different persons with knowledge and insight to the attention of academics and clinicians engaged in PTSD study."

The entire collection of articles, titled "PTSD in the military: prevalence, pathophysiology, treatment", may be accessed freely online in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology.

Source: http://co-action.net/