From the New York Times: New treatments for PTSD

For Veterans, a Surge of New Treatments for Trauma
You name it, and it’s being used somewhere in the veterans’ health system: The National Intrepid Center in Washington is one of many places using acupuncture to treat stress-related anxiety and sleep disorders; it has been shown to be effective against PTSD. At the New Orleans V.A., the same clinicians who ran Trin’s group also did a small study using yoga. They found vets liked it and attendance was excellent. The yoga reduced the veterans’ hyperarousal and helped them sleep. There is even a group in the Puget Sound V.A. Hospital in Seattle that treats PTSD — including among Navy Seals — using the Buddhist practice of “loving kindness meditation.” (“We had a little bit of debate about changing the name,” said Dr. David Kearney, who led the group. “But we decided to keep it, and it worked out just fine.”) NYT

New study shows PTSD symptoms reduced in combat-exposed military via integrative medicine

Scripps study in Military Medicine reveals reduced depression, cynicism among US Marines

Healing touch combined with guided imagery (HT+GI) provides significant clinical reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms for combat-exposed active duty military, according to a study released in the September issue of Military Medicine.

The report finds that patients receiving these complementary medicine interventions showed significant improvement in quality of life, as well as reduced depression and cynicism, compared to soldiers receiving treatment as usual alone. Eurekalert!

New Article from the Journal of Clinical Psychology

Effects of Participat​ion in a Mindfulnes​s Program for Veterans With Posttrauma​tic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Forty-seven veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 37 male, 32 Caucasian) were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU; n = 22), or MBSR plus TAU (n = 25). PTSD, depression, and mental health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and 4-month follow-up. Standardized effect sizes and the proportion with clinically meaningful changes in outcomes were calculated. Kearney DJ, McDermott K, Malte C, Martinez M, Simpson TL. J Clin Psychol. 2012 Aug 28. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22930491
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Link to related article from 2012 in Journal of Clinical Psychology by Kearney et. al.:
Association of participation in a mindfulness program with measures of PTSD, depression and quality of life in a veteran sample.  (PDF)
Kearney DJ, McDermott K, Malte C, Martinez M, Simpson TL.
J Clin Psychol. 2012 Jan;68(1):101-16. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20853. Epub 2011 Nov 28.
PMID: 2212518

Potential paradigmatic shift within the field of psychiatry

Serotonergic hallucinogens and emerging targets for addiction pharmacotherapies.
The ability of these medicinal tools (ex: psilocybin) to treat a range of addictive, psychiatric, and existential disorders is remarkable in scope and possibility. They truly represent a potential paradigmatic shift within the field of psychiatry, too interesting to not explore further. Ross S. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2012 Jun;35(2):357-74. PMID:22640760  PDF (with subscription)