Traumatic Stress

Potentially traumatic events are widely experienced and impact individuals and societies. Psychological consequences of traumatic stress often require adequate interventions. During this seminar we will discuss ways of understanding trauma in psychological theories, research and clinical approaches. Emphasis will be put on the new developments and empirical evidence in psychotraumatology, as well as controversies about the validity of studied constructs and the role of societal context.

The aim of the course is to discuss concepts present in psychotraumatology theory, research and clinical practice. It will consist of six thematic blocks (each from 1 to 5 hrs). We would start with understanding constructs studied in the field of traumatic stress, changes in theoretical approaches over the past decades and current controversies. Next, we will discuss factors that determine posttraumatic psychopathology and resilience, as well as evidence-based forms of psychological interventions. Finally, we would cover more detailed issues related to challenging topics in the field: concept of trauma transmission, posttraumatic reactions among specific populations and future directions of research and clinical practice. Short lectures will be interspersed with video presentations, individual/small-group exercises and discussions.

1. Does “traumatic” always mean the same?

 Weisaeth, L. (2015). The History of Psychic Trauma. In: M. Friedman, T. Keane, P., Resick (eds.) Handbook of PTSD. Second Edition. Science and Practice. (chapter 3, pp. 38-59). New York: The Guilford Press.

 Gillihan, S., Cahill, S., Foa, E. (2015). Psychological Theories of PTSD. In: M. Friedman, T. Keane, P., Resick (eds.) Handbook of PTSD. Second Edition. Science and Practice. (chapter 9, pp. 166-184). New York: The Guilford Press.

 Brewin, Ch. et al. (2017). A review of current evidence regarding the ICD-11 proposals for diagnosing PTSD and complex PTSD, Clinical Psychology Review, 58, 1-15.

2. Why playing “Tetris” or making eye movements may help? Evidencebased interventions and treatments.

 Holmes, E., James, E., Coode-Bate, T., Deeprose, C. (2009). Can Playing the Computer Game “Tetris” Reduce the Build-Up of Flashbacks for Trauma? A Proposal from Cognitive Science. PLOS ONE 4(1): e4153.

 Lancaster, C. L., Teeters, J. B., Gros, D. F., & Back, S. E. (2016). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Overview of Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 5(11), 105. doi:10.3390/jcm5110105

 Schnyder U. et al. , (2015) Psychotherapies for PTSD: what do they have in common? European Journal of Psychotraumatology 6:1 DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v6.28186

3. Resilience: the default or superpower?

 Iacoviello, B. M., & Charney, D. S. (2014). Psychosocial facets of resilience: implications for preventing posttrauma psychopathology, treating trauma survivors, and enhancing community resilience. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5, 10.3402/ejpt.v5.23970.

 Thompson, N. Fiorillo, D. Rothbaum, B., Ressler, K., Michopoulos, V. (2018). Coping strategies as mediators in relation to resilience and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 225, 153-159.

 Porterfield, K. A., & Lindhout, A. (2014). Healing in forgiveness: A discussion with Amanda Lindhout and Katherine Porterfield, PhD. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5, 10.3402/ejpt.v5.24390.

4. Transmission of trauma – myth or empirically supported phenomena(s)?

 Ellis, C., & Knight, K. E. (2018). Advancing a Model of Secondary Trauma: Consequences for Victim Service Providers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

 Yehuda, R., & Lehrner, A. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 17(3), 243-257.

5. Vulnerable populations.

 Patel, N., Williams, A., Kellezi, B. (2016). Reviewing outcomes of psychological interventions with torture survivors: Conceptual, methodological and ethical issues, Torture, 26, 1-15

 Kennedy, A. C., & Prock, K. A. (2018). “I still feel like I am not normal”: A review of the role of stigma and stigmatization among female survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Trauma Violence Abuse, 19(5), 512-527.

 Students will know the basic constructs and theories studied in psychotraumatology.

 Students will know predictors of posttraumatic disorders and resilience.

 Students will know the principles of evidence-based treatments for trauma-related disorders.

 Students will be able to critically assess the impact of societal and cultural contexts for trauma conceptualization.

 Students will know some of the controversies raised in the field of psychotraumatology.