News & Blog
CBT for Soldiers: Workshop Announcement
Dr. Judith Beck will present a Cognitive Behavior Therapy workshop at the Combat Stress Intervention Program’s 2nd Annual Conference at Washington & Jefferson College on Friday, March 26, 2010. The theme of this year’s conference is Combat Stress: Working Effectively with Military Clients.
–
If you’re a mental health professional working with soldiers, vets, or their families, you might be eligible to receive a partial scholarship program for participation in our Cognitive Therapy Workshops at Beck Institute. VISIT: www.CBTforSoldiers.org.
(Posted February 24, 2010)
Veterans with TBI and Suicidality
Previous research has shown that, in recent years, there has been an increased rate of suicide in soldiers returning from war. In addition, as many as 15-23% of returning soldiers have incurred traumatic brain injuries (TBI). A new study published in Rehabilitation Psychology aimed to identify risk and protective factors for suicide ideation or suicidal behavior among veterans who have experienced TBI.
Thirteen suicidal veterans in a TBI clinic completed 30 to 60 minute interviews that included structured questionnaires regarding suicidality, methods of coping/seeking support, and military service. Researchers identified a post-injury loss of sense of self, cognitive deficits secondary to TBI, and psychiatric and emotional difficulties as precipitating factors for suicide ideation or suicidal behavior. Social support, a sense of purpose and hopefulness, religion or spirituality, and mental health treatment were identified as protective factors.
This study helps to identify those precipitating factors that practitioners should target when working with a similar population. The authors note that concepts associated with perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belonging can be targeted using cognitive and behavioral strategies along with techniques that encourage the client to re-conceptualize his or her worth and meaning to others.
Reference:
Brenner, L. A., Homaifar, B. Y., Adler, L. E., Wolfman, J. H., & Kemp, J. (2009). Suicidality and veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury: Precipitating events, protective factors, and prevention strategies. Rehabilitation Psychology, 54, 390-397.
(Posted February 23, 2010)
Lecture at U explores role of hope in preventing suicide
On October 7th, David Rudd, a clinical suicidology expert and co-author of The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide delivered a lecture at the University of Utah addressing the role of hope in suicide prevention. Rudd’s talk focused on new technology that has allowed doctors to pinpoint specific regions of the brain that respond to cognitive therapy geared toward generating hope, as well as what we know about hope that builds resiliency and saves lives.
(Posted October 22, 2009)
New York Times reports: After Combat, Victims of an Inner War
The rising toll of suicides in the military has hit a National Guard unit particularly hard: four soldiers, out of roughly 175 members, have committed suicide.
(Posted August 3, 2009)
Repeat suicide attempts reduced by CBT
A randomized control study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to be effective in reducing the number of repeat suicide attempts in adults.
Past research had focused on intensive follow-up treatment or intensive case management, interpersonal psychotherapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy for the preventative treatment of suicide attempts, but empirical evidence for the efficacy of these therapies has been limited. The current study aimed to examine the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy as a preventative therapy for suicide, by performing a randomized control study adequate in power to detect treatment differences.
Participants consisted of patients who had attempted suicide and received a medical or psychological evaluation within 48 hours of the attempt. Participants were randomly assigned to follow-up care of either CBT or usual care (UC). Those placed in the CBT group received outpatient CBT sessions that were specifically designed for preventing future suicide attempts. The CBT aimed to address and identify the thoughts, images, and core beliefs that activated the previous suicide attempt, and to teach cognitive and behavioral strategies as better ways of coping with these thoughts and stressors.
The authors found that participants in the CBT group were 50% less likely to reattempt suicide than the participants in the UC group. In addition, the CBT group measured significantly lower for depression as well as hopelessness than the UC group. The authors concluded that “the short-term feature of cognitive therapy would make it particularly applicable for the treatment of suicide attempters at community mental health centers, which typically provide relatively short-term therapy.”
Reference: Brown, G. K, Have, T. T., Henriques, G. R., Xie, S. X., Hollander, J. E., & Beck, A. T. (2005). Cognitive therapy for the prevention of suicide attempts: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 294, 563-570
Journal of the American Medical Association article
Cognitive Therapy for the Prevention of Suicide Attempts: A Randomized Control Study
National Institute of Mental Health report
Cognitive Therapy Reduces Repeat Suicide Attempts by 50 Percent
Cognitive Therapy Is Helping Veterans
Guest Blogger: John Milwee, Psy.D., Veterans Administration therapist and Beck Institute alumnus
Veterans returning from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq may face many challenges as they begin to reintegrate into their roles as parents, employees, friends, and neighbors. In recent months a great deal of media attention has been focused on those returning Veterans who suffer with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) associated with their combat experience. Alarming statistics are frequently reported that describe the number of these Veterans who, when untreated, commit suicide.
Heightened awareness within the civilian population of PTSD has served as an important catalyst for changing public perceptions of our Veterans’ experience while in theater and, within the VA, for development of new outreach programs to help them once they are back home. The application of empirically-based cognitive behavioral therapies to a growing number of disorders, PTSD among them, is one of the most important and effective tools for addressing our Veterans’ needs and, in some cases, saving lives.
The violence and chaos of war sometimes (but not always) leave some of our Veterans with a second battle to fight once they have gotten back home. As a clinical psychologist in a VA hospital for the past three and a half years, I have learned that the challenges of reintegrating into civilian life do not stop with those Veterans who have been in combat. Simply joining the military requires sacrifices that most of us in the civilian population will never be required to make. Long absences from family and friends, unexpected changes in station and living situation, an unwavering commitment to duty and service, and an obligation to follow the orders of an unquestioned chain of command set the average soldier’s experience apart from most civilian lifestyles.
Cognitive Therapy (CT) has been a very useful means of helping Veterans learn to function effectively in civilian life after they have left the service. The term “military training” refers to much more than education about combat tactics, equipment maintenance and drills. Joining the military requires that the individual learn how to live within a culture that is distinct from that of their previous experience. The structure, rules, and expectations that the military provides our service men and women shape them psychologically in profound ways. This is precisely the kind of learning that contributes to the development of the conditional assumptions and beliefs and the behavioral compensatory strategies that frequently constitute the therapeutic targets of CT.
Cognitive restructuring of dysfunctional, sometimes negative thinking, behavioral activation, and a spirit of collaborative empiricism are excellent helpmeets for veterans who are learning to live in a less structured social environment where success is not always rewarded, failure not always punished, and expectations are not always clear. I have found that Veterans are quite comfortable with the structure of a good Cognitive Therapy session, setting clear goals for treatment and criteria for success, and the collaborative development and testing of hypotheses.
As our Veterans return from the current conflicts and others leave the service because they have fulfilled the obligations of their commitment, it is our duty to ensure that they receive the very best care our medical and psychiatric systems can provide. At the VA, new initiatives in training and service are being rolled out regularly. As the number of new providers being trained in CT increases we can be more confident that our Veterans will be given state-of-the-art treatment that is empirically derived and validated and which truly addresses their most urgent needs and concerns.
Leave a Reply