In the world of treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) there seems to be an insatiable desire for new and novel treatments, and there is a frequent refrain that “We need effective treatments for PTSD!”
Even die-hard proponents of evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) such as myself acknowledge that it comes with challenges. Of course, there are some patients who are uninterested in EBPs for a variety of reasons. But even motivated and engaged patients don’t always complete treatment or gain significant benefit. Research has long focused on how we can improve outcomes and completion rates for “non responders” and “dropouts.”
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by diffuse and persistent non-inflammatory musculoskeletal pain. It is estimated that the prevalence of FM in the general population ranges from 2-4%, with it being more frequently diagnosed in women compared to men (Galvez-Sánchez & Reyes del Paso, 2020).
Several years ago, I was co-facilitating a group Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) session with several BIPOC (Black, Indiginous, People of Color), Vietnam Veterans. During agenda setting, one of the Veterans in the group wanted to discuss a Challenging Beliefs Worksheet (CBW) that he had completed during the past week. I acknowledged his request, and, since he didn’t often speak about his practice assignments, I asked the group if we could start with his agenda item. The rest of the group agreed.
The concept of moral injury (MI) has become much more of a mainstream construct in mental health treatment over the last decade. In my research for this article, I reviewed my colleague’s observations and perspectives on the theoretical development, assessment and treatment. There has been rigorous examination, discussion and research on the construct of MI, its causes and remedies.