- THERE ARE MANY ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN THAT ARE
RETURNING FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WITH
POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AS WELL AS OTHER THINGS LIKE
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, AND THEY NEED OUR HELP.
- THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR PTSD IS A CONSORTIUM OF DIFFERENT
RESEARCH CENTERS FOCUSED ON INVESTIGATING ISSUES RELATED
TO POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG OUR
NATION'S VETERANS.
AND WE'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN EDUCATING THE PUBLIC
ABOUT PTSD AND JUST SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THE DISORDER
AND HOW IT CAN BE TREATED.
- WE LOOKED AT A PARTICULAR KIND OF PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR PTSD
CALLED COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY, AND IN THAT TRIAL,
WE ACTUALLY FOUND THAT THE THERAPY WAS EFFECTIVE
IN REDUCING VETERANS' PTSD SYMPTOMS, AS WELL AS THEIR
DEPRESSION, AND ALSO IMPROVED THEIR SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT,
THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR FAMILIES.
HI. I'M CANDICE. NICE TO MEET YOU.
COME ON IN.
BY DOING THIS RESEARCH WITH VETERANS WHO ARE SOMETIMES 30,
35 YEARS AFTER HAVING EXPERIENCED THE TRAUMA,
WE ACTUALLY SHOW THAT, IN FACT, THEY CAN HAVE
SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR PTSD SYMPTOMS THAT SEEM
TO STAY OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, SUGGESTING THAT IT'S NOT
A CONDITION THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SUFFER FROM FOR A LIFETIME.
THIS IS A COUPLES TREATMENT FOR PTSD BUT ALSO IMPROVING
YOUR RELATIONSHIP AND TRY TO ENHANCE THE WAY THAT YOU
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.
- THE RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR PTSD, THE PROLONGED EXPOSURE
THERAPY, WHICH I WENT THROUGH, BY THE TIME I WAS DONE,
I HAD LOTS OF BENEFITS.
I COULD START TO SEE ALREADY THE REDUCED ANXIETIES.
FOR INSTANCE, I WASN'T ABLE TO WALK OUTSIDE ALONE.
INTERACTING WITH OTHER PEOPLE, I HAD MY GUARDS UP, I WASN'T
ABLE TO TRUST PEOPLE.
AND NOW I'M ABLE DO ALL THOSE THINGS.
- NOW THAT I'M ABLE TO WALK THE STREET IN RUSH HOUR.
I WAS UNABLE TO DO THESE THINGS FOR OVER...
ALMOST 30 YEARS OR MORE.
- THE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY REALLY MADE A SIGNIFICANT
IMPACT ON MY ABILITY TO GET THROUGH LIFE.
- YOU JUST CAN'T REALLY PUT A VALUE ON IT
BECAUSE IT'S PRICELESS.
IT REALLY IS.
- AT THE ATLANTA VA MEDICAL CENTER, DR. CHRIS CROWE IS
COMBINING VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY WITH MEDICATION TO
HELP VETERANS RECOVER FROM PTSD.
- ...USUALLY HAD YOUR MOST ATTENTION ON A ROAD LIKE THIS
BECAUSE AMBUSHES COULD COME FROM EITHER SIDE OF IT.
- VIRTUAL REALITY IS A WAY TO FACILITATE INVOLVEMENT
IN TRAUMATIC MEMORIES FOR OUR RETURNING SOLDIERS.
THE THEORY OF PROLONGED EXPOSURE THERAPY IS THAT YOU
HAVE TO ACTIVATE THE FEAR MEMORY AND ACTUALLY HELP
THE PERSON REEXPERIENCE SOME DEGREE OF THE TRAUMA.
- YOU TALK ABOUT THOSE EVENTS SPECIFICALLY OVER AND OVER
AND OVER AGAIN, WHICH OBVIOUSLY NOBODY WANTS TO DO,
BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY TRAUMATIC AND THEY'RE HARD TO THINK
ABOUT AND HARD TO CERTAINLY GO THROUGH AGAIN.
- WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS PART OF THE PROGRAM THAT HELPS
RE-CREATE A CONVOY.
THE VETERAN ACTUALLY PUTS ON A HEADSET, AND THIS IS WHAT
HE'LL SEE OR SHE WILL SEE.
AND IT HELPS THEM SORT OF RE-CREATE THE MEMORY
OF THE TRAUMATIC EVENT THAT HAPPENED TO THEM.
WE BELIEVE THIS HAS VERY EXCITING POTENTIAL TO TREAT
PEOPLE VERY QUICKLY AND TO TREAT THEM IN A WAY THAT MAKES
THEM LESS VULNERABLE TO RELAPSE.
- THERAPY IS JUST ONE FORM OF PTSD RESEARCH.
BIOMEDICAL LABORATORY RESEARCH IS ALSO BEING CONDUCTED.
- PTSD IS MORE THAN JUST A MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER, IT'S
A VERY COMPLEX STRESS RESPONSE THAT INVOLVES EMOTIONAL
AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS AS WELL AS CHANGES
IN THE PERSON'S BIOLOGY.
MY MAIN FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS ON UNDERSTANDING GENETIC
AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE DISORDER.
IF WE CAN IDENTIFY FACTORS THAT PREDICT WHO DEVELOPS
PTSD, WE MAY BE ABLE TO DEVELOP INTERVENTIONS THAT
WOULD PREVENT THEM FROM EVER DEVELOPING THE DISORDER
IN THE FIRST PLACE.
- HOPEFULLY THIS RESEARCH WILL ONE DAY HELP
MORE VETERANS WITH PTSD.
- MY QUALITY OF LIFE HAS IMPROVED 200-FOLD,
AND THE BEST PART ABOUT IT IS THAT KNOWING THAT I'VE GONE
THROUGH THE PROGRAM AND SEEING THESE CHANGES GIVES ME
THE HOPE THAT MORE CHANGES ARE YET TO COME.