Lynn provided us with a two in one presentation this month.
First was a short information presentation for Black Maternal Health Week. Lynn recently became a first time mom and has helped to shed light on maternal health facts that affect black women.
Lynn’s second part of the presentation focuses on how social media posts are being linked to common health issues, such as depression, diabetes, and anxiety.
Predicting Medical Conditions – Lynn Murphy – April 2024
Journical Club- Shakeira Frye
Article: Kip, K. E., Berumen, J., Zeidan, A. R., Hernandez, D. F., & Finnegan, A. P. (2019). The emergence of accelerated resolution therapy for treatment of post‐traumatic stress disorder: A review and new subgroup analyses. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 19(2), 117-129.
Purpose: This article discussed the effectiveness of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for treating individuals with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), specifically among military personnel and individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The article described PTSD as a chronic, disabling psychiatric disorder that is characterized by being exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence that leads to persistent re-experiencing of the details associated with the traumatic event, avoiding stimuli that evoke thoughts or feelings about the event, negative changes in cognitions and mood related to traumatic event. The article emphasized ART’s potential as a reasonable, shorter alternative to traditional PTSD treatments, especially for military populations with difficult clinical presentations.
What is ART: ART therapy was described as an emerging trauma-focused psychotherapy that is brief relative to other treatments. This article aimed to describe the ART clinical protocol and the theoretical foundations. The protocol consists of four primary steps which included Relaxation and Orientation, Imaginal Exposure, Imagery Rescripting, and Assessment and Closeout. In the Relaxation and Orientation step, the client identifies and states the specific traumatic event they want to address. Next, the therapist directs the patient to focus on their bodily sensations while also performing a set of eye movements. In the Imaginal Exposure step, the client is directed to begin visualizing the traumatic event in their mind from start to finish while also performing eye movements. Again, the therapist asks the client to pay attention to any somatic, emotional, or physiological sensations that they may be experiencing. Those sensations are then processed with a set of eye movements until they are comfortable returning in their mind to the place they left off in the traumatic event. This step is completed when the client can visualize their experience from start to finish two times. The third step, Imagery Rescripting, involves the client being directed to imagine a new and preferred way of visualizing their experience while performing eye movements. The final step, Assessment and Closeout, includes reinforcing techniques which are used to assess if there are any areas of the traumatic event that still causes the client to generate visceral responses.
Study and Results: This study consisted of 291 participants who received at least one session of ART across four studies. The participants were classified based on their TBI status (no TBI, mild TBI, moderate TBI or severe TBI). The participants also had to have symptoms related to PTSD. The results of this study indicated that there were significant reductions in PTSD symptoms among participants. On average, the participants showed a 20.6-point reduction on the PTSD Checklist (PCL) after ART treatment, with 60.8% experiencing a clinically meaningful reduction of symptoms. Among the military personnel with TBI, the response rates to ART were similar regardless of TBI severity.
Each year, we meet with Forensic Psychologist (and former WSH intern) Dr. Danielle Smith and her husband, Asst. District Attorney Jarred Smith, Esq., to give our interns a look at how forensic testimony in court proceedings carry out. Jarred does not hold back on grilling our future docs but sometimes “Judge” Vaught throw her weight around as well. It’s a fun, interesting learning experience we are thankful to have offered to us and hope to continue.
Probably the happiest “Judge” ever!
Taylor giving her testimony
Dr. Vaught making sure everyone remembers who the expert is
Mr. Smith, “It’s Dr. Anderson actually”
Crystal Henson, Psy.D.
WKPIC Instructor
Schizophrenia affects one in every one hundred persons with half of those affected likely to experience co-morbid substance use (as cited in Hunt et al., 2018). This use, in turn, exacerbates the overall symptomologic course of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been associated with an increased frequency of adverse consequences (Hunt et al., 2018).
In comparison to those who are singly diagnosed with schizophrenia alone, persons with co-morbid alcohol and/or illicit drug use are more likely to experience “hospitalization, homelessness, aggression, violence, incarceration, and suicidality” (as cited in Hunt et al., 2018, p. 234).
Specifically pertaining to an increased frequency of hospitalizations, Schmidt, Hesse, and Lykke (2011) found that patients who were dually diagnosed with schizophrenia and substance use disorder were psychiatrically hospitalized two times more frequently than individuals who were diagnosed with schizophrenia alone. Likewise, this group of patients were three times more likely to experience an outpatient episode, including emergency room visits. (Schmidt et al., 2011). However, the duration of their treatment was typically briefer (Schmidt et al., 2011).
References
Hunt, G. E., Large, M. M., Cleary, M., Xiong Lai, H. M., & Saunders, J. B. (2018). Prevalence of comorbid substance use in schizophrenia spectrum disorders in community and clinical settings, 1990-2017: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 191, 234-258. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.07.011
Schmidt, L. M., Hesse, M., & Lykke, J. (2011). The impact of substance use disorders on the course of schizophrenia – A 15-year follow up study: Dual diagnosis over 15 years. Schizophrenia Research, 130, 1-3, 228-233. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.04.011
Shirreka Mackay, LPC
Practicum Student, Western State Hospital