PTSD: a quick guide to your treatment

by TM Maria Be a king in your own kingdom

It is a disorder that arises as a late response to a stressful eventuality or to a situation (brief or lasting) of a very threatening or catastrophic nature, which would cause for themselves a widespread malaise in almost the entire population (for example, natural disasters or produced by man such as armed fighting, serious accidents or witnessing the violent death of someone besides being a victim of torture, terrorism, a rape or some other highly significant crime).

Next we will give a quick review of the basic information about the diagnosis and treatment of CPTSD.

Risk factors of this disorder

The risk factors that have been considered can trigger a PTSD are:

·        Age at which Trauma occurs

·        Scholarship

·        Intelligence quotient

·        Ethnicity

·        Personal history of psychiatric history

·        Report of abuse in childhood or other adverse events

·        Family history of psychiatric illness

·        Severity of Trauma

·        Posttraumatic stress

·        Post-trauma social support

In turn, the most frequent traumatic events are:

·        Threat, sexual harassment by telephone

·        Violation

·        Witness violent acts

·        Physical attack

·        Accidents

·        War combat

Initial PTSD Treatment

In subjects with PTSD the evidence shown by clinical trials that have been controlled and randomized, support to begin treatment with psychotherapeutic strategies in addition to the use of secondary serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as the first line of intervention.

With regard to psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy has shown evidence of being effective in reducing the symptoms presented and preventing symptomatic recurrences of seizures.

General guidelines in the management of the disorder

These are other general guidelines that are followed in the initial treatment of this disorder:

·        Develop a management plan considering the characteristics of the subject, the type of traumatic event, the previous history, the severity of the damage.

·        From the beginning the plan must detail the selected treatment as well as the time and expected results. If the management plan is incorporated sequentially, this will allow an evaluation of the effects of the treatment.

·        The health professional can more easily identify any changes during the therapeutic process, such as worsening, improvement or appearance of any other symptoms.

·        It is recommended to start treatment with paroxetine or sertraline under the following scheme: Paroxetine: 20 to 40 mg. maximum 60 mg Sertraline : Start with 50-100 mg. and increase 50 mg. every 5 days up to 200 mg.

·        The use of neuroleptics as monotherapy for PTSD is not recommended. Atypical neuroleptics such as olanzapine or risperidone should be used to manage the associated psychotic symptoms.

·        In patients who persist with severe nightmares despite the use of SSRIs, it is suggested to add topiramate 50 to 150 mg.

·        It is recommended to add prazocin to the SSRI treatment in patients who persist with nightmares associated with PTSD and who have not responded to treatment with topiramate.

Psychological treatment in adults

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the strategy that has proven to be most effective in reducing symptoms and preventing recurrence. Programs where cognitive behavioral therapy is incorporated are classified into three groups:

·        Focused on trauma (individual treatment)

·        Focused on stress management (individual treatment)

·        Group therapy

Brief psychological interventions (5 sessions) can be effective if treatment begins in the first months after the traumatic event. In turn, the treatment must be regular and continuous (at least once a week) and must be given by the same therapist.

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Created on Aug 20th 2019 09:01. Viewed 580 times.

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