Resolution - Rebuilding Lives

Please take part in this research project

2010-07-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

No one knows how many ex-service personnel are suffering the symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The Government chooses to clinically isolate PTSD from associated symptoms of alchohol and drug dependency, thus ignoring the possibility of cause and effect.
The charity PTSD Resolution (www.ptsdresolution.org) is hosting a university research project to identify how many veterans are affected, to bring this to the attention of Government. If you are a Veteran please take part and go to http://bit.ly/daaoAX (it is entirely private and confidential).

Alcohol 'a problem for veterans' - I wonder why?

2010-05-14T02:48:00.000-07:00

Some commentators see the new study by doctors from King's College London (May, 2010) on mental health in the forces as reassuring, in that it does not find an increase in the numbers suffering from PTSD (‘alcohol a problem for war veterans, study finds’ (Independent)). Others have pointed out that even if only 4% of Afghanistan returnees suffer PTSD that still means 7,000 troops will suffer (‘Tidal wave of Mental Trauma among Servicemen’ (Telegraph)).

Both these approaches miss the point: If, as the study suggests, some 13% of returnees report that they are ‘misusing’ alcohol, there will be a reason why they are doing this, and the reason, if they were not ‘misusing’ alcohol before going to Afghanistan, will be something to do with having served in the war zone.

Convention sees psychiatric disorders as separate entities, so someone might suffer from PTSD and be alcohol-dependent and the clinic, should he be lucky enough to attend one, would not necessarily connect the two.

In reality these things are intimately interconnected, as people tend to self-medicate with alcohol (or anything else they can get their hands on) in order to dull the symptoms that they suffer as a result of having been in combat.

Our experience at Resolution is that if you take a soldier who is having problems with alcohol you will almost always find post-traumatic symptoms as well – not bad enough to qualify for a diagnosis of PTSD but unpleasant enough to contribute to the drinking behaviour.

From this it seems fair to conclude that the figure for the number of PTSD cases is really not relevant to the problems that service personnel face after combat.

Proper care for returnees and later veterans requires that we ask the right questions of those who do not have a diagnosis and give those who have post-traumatic symptoms treatment that actually reduces the impact of their traumatic memories, to the point where they can get on with their lives without suffering from the anger, fear, depression and all the other symptoms that military service can produce.

The PTSD Resolution outreach programme helps veterans and TA struggling to reintegrate into a normal work & family life because of military post traumatic stress suffered as a result of service in the armed forces. http://www.ptsdresolution.org/

Sir Richard Dannatt calls for more help for traumatised veterans

2010-02-08T02:45:00.000-08:00

Sir Richard Dannatt spoke at the inauguration of PTSD-Resolution, as he helped us to launch the Resolution formally as an independent charity.
Sir Richard said cases of post traumatic stress diagnosed so far were only the tip of the iceberg. "These are hidden injuries," he said. He welcomed that serving soldiers were now trained to spot the symptoms of battle stress in comrades and contrasted that with his experience as a young officer, decorated for bravery in Northern Ireland.
"In South Armagh, where a company commander was blown up in front of us, we called in all patrols, opened the bar and got smashed. There has to be a better way," he said.

What does the success rate mean.

2010-02-08T02:10:00.000-08:00

What percentage of clients actually get better? This is a big question for any treatment service, but there is no single answer because there are different ways of addressing the question. Does it mean what percentage of the whole population would get better using this treatment, or what percentage of those who make an initial enquiry to this service, or what percentage of those who start treatment, or what percentage of those who finish treatment in a planned way with a final assessment?

The picture is complicated by the specialised meaning attached to the word effectiveness. In medicine the word effectiveness relates to how well a treatment approach works in routine clinical practice, but efficacy is how well it works in specific conditions, for example in a clinical trial where certain patients, e.g. those with other disorders, are excluded because they would complicate the picture (and reduce the efficacy).

It is worth pointing out that the Resolution figure of better than 80% 'success' is not a measure of effectiveness in the clinical sense - it will take larger-scale research (for which we are now planning and raising funds) to establish that. Nor, on the other hand, is it a measure of efficacy, as we do not exclude people from the figures because they have other problems that might complicate treatment.

The Resolution figure of 80% is a measure of the outcomes from completed cases. We scale symptoms on first meeting, and scale them again at the last session. The data necessarily excludes those who come along for an assessment and then disappear, but it includes everyone else. If you are following this because you are interested in the outcome for this particular variant of trauma-focussed CBT you might well wonder whether there is something about the patient group that produces this result. It has been suggested, for example, that ex-military people might have more motivation to get better than the general population, and that might be true, and might be pushing the figure up. On the other hand, we could make it higher still by applying exclusion criteria to the service; refusing to take on people with drug or alcohol problems, or personality disorders, for example, and that we will not do.

This raises the question of what exactly are we measuring here, is it the clients or the treatment, and the answer is a combination of both. In other words, if you are an ex-military person with post-traumatic symptoms and you come to Resolution, present indications are that there is a strong probability that your symptoms will come down to a level where they are not considered to need further treatment.

The other question, perhaps more important, is what happens to the others, why do some people not go further than the initial assessment. At the moment we just do not know.

One of the main objects of Resolution is research, and this year we hope to see the first research project on this question.

Resolution now an independent charity

2009-12-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

PTSD Resolution is now an independent charity, registered no. 1133188. This is a big step forward as Resolution becomes independent of its former parent charity and is free to develop policies and services in accordance with its charitable objects. These are:
“For the public benefit the relief of the mental sickness of veterans of the armed forces with post-traumatic symptoms in particular by the provision of counselling, treatment, and support and by:
(1) promoting research into treating post-traumatic symptoms, and to promote new ways of providing services, for veterans of the armed forces suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (ptsd), across the uk;
(2) advancing the education of veterans of the armed forces and the public about the mechanisms of trauma and means of reducing the impact of ptsd on veterans of the armed forces and the population in general; and
(3) promoting social inclusion among veterans of the armed forces with ptsd in prisons through counselling, treatment and support.”
Resolution sets out to treat the people that other services do not reach, to promote more tolerable and humane treatments, to sponsor research that may find even better ways of working with PTSD, to educate the people, such as Police officers, who really need to know about the logic of the traumatised brain, and to tackle the appalling problem of trauma in imprisoned veterans.

Criminal responsibility and PTSD - 2

2009-10-30T04:25:00.000-07:00

There is a campaign underway now in the UK to make a verdict of 'not guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility' plea to mentally ill people accused of crimes other than murder. The previous post relates the efforts of a similar campaign group working to protect veterans in the States. The problem with these efforts is that they are seen in some quarters as a 'criminals' charter', and it is unlikely the Ministry of Justice would embrace the idea of automatically giving veterans any privileged position in mental health defence cases.

The obvious way to resolve this dilemma is to have a proper tracking system that offers veterans the best possible services at the earliest possible moment when things start to unravel. There would be problems connected with privacy, data protection and (the real difficulty) cost, but how much does it cost to keep a man in prison each year, and what is the human cost down the line when families break up because of post-traumatic problems?

Criminal responsibility and PTSD

2009-10-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

A groundbreaking verdict for US Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was decided in Canyon City, Oregon on October 19 when former soldier Jesse Bratcher, on trial for murder, was found guilty by reason of insanity. It was the first trial in the U.S. where a Veteran's PTSD was successfully considered to mitigate the circumstances of a crime.

Bratcher was a model citizen before joining the Army, with no criminal or juvenile history. He strictly adhered to the rules of engagement in Iraq, twice refusing to fire on civilians. There, he witnessed the death of a friend from an IED explosion, which commanders reported drastically changed Bratcher's mental state.

The US National Veterans Foundation President Shad Meshad said "This is a significant decision, for Jesse and for Vets around the country, who were law abiding citizens before they went to war and who have been accused of crimes since returning home. The military and the VA have not done enough to diagnose soldiers and Veterans with PTSD and provide them with needed counseling and support to ease their readjustment to civilian life."

Resolution Sponsors - Thank you SCS

2009-10-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

At the recent Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition in London's Docklands, business consultancy SCS agreed to sponsor treatment of an Iraq or Afghanistan returnee with post-traumatic symptoms.

SCS is a leading independent consultancy providing a range of technical services primarily but not exclusively for the defence and security sectors. Its main client is the MOD and its agencies; other clients include NATO, major defence contractors, other Government Departments and a range of blue-chip non-defence businesses.

Resolution would like to thank SCS for this support, and would very much like to hear from other defence-related businesses with an interest in the welfare of our servicemen

Call for action by the National Council of Women

2009-10-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

The following resolution on Service Personnel and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was passed by the NCW at its conference:

The National Council of Women, in Conference assembled, mindful of the emotional distress suffered by returning service personnel and their families, urges the Ministry of Defence to:

1. take steps to remove any stigma from acknowledging post-traumatic stress;

2. take the necessary action to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder early (however late it may manifest)

3. note the high success rate claimed by the charitable organisation RESOLUTION, staffed by civilians and some ex-soldiers who have trained as counsellors, and

4. recommend the inclusion, in the funding of community mental health initiatives, of some funding for a small and closely-monitored pilot study into RESOLUTION.

Submitted by: NCW Health Committee

Proposer. Valerie Alasia, Chairman, NCW Health Committee.

Seconded by: Dr, Maureen Beauchamp, Secretary, NCW Health Committee

Proposer's Speech:

In the light of media reporting of the suffering of returning serving personnel and their families and, eventually, the wider public, the Health Committee has researched the provision of help and counselling for our servicemen.

Commonsense, kindness and thrift would suggest that those returning from combat zones should debriefed and for offered help as soon as possible. But it is recognised that post-traumatic stress may take years to manifest in these proud people, whilst causing deterioration in quality of life and behaviour. Unlike the days of the troopship, those returning now are flown in, perhaps from scenes of carnage, directly to the company of family and friends who cannot share those experiences. They should be given a clear explanation of potential difficulties and available treatments, and told that there is no stigma attached to the condition.

The Government, correctly, wishes to use methods and organisations approved by NICE. Approval, understandably, requires an assessment of efficacy - usually a two-year survey with a statistically positive outcome.

The waiting time for National Health appointments is governed by NHS guidelines. Returning combatants may take some time to refer themselves; thus their Post-traumatic Stress Disorder may be more deep-seated and more difficult to alleviate. The cost to society through anti-social behaviour, addictions, imprisonment and hospital admissions should be weighed against the cost of wider and earlier intervention.

The Health Committee learned, at its recent Seminar on Maternal Mental Health issues, that to be mentally ill is still regarded by many as weak or shameful, instead of being an illness to be acknowledged and treated in the same way as any physical disorder. How much more difficult must it be for those whose occupation is to be brave and uncomplaining in the face of unimaginable horrors (and for their families) to recognise problems and to ask for help.

We heard speakers from "Resolution" a charitable, nationally based organisation staffed by civilians and some ex-soldiers who have trained as counsellors. They spoke of the relative ease with which early, or late, post-traumatic horrors can be faced and dealt with, but for which they have only empirical and anecdotal evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of their treatment. A course costs £600. A week in an NHS hospital or HM prison costs much more, and not just financially.

We note that Government has promised 300 more counsellors for returning servicemen. Perhaps they will look at the success-rate for "Resolution", investigate the treatment correlation with NICE guidelines, and recognise the potential for delivering wider, better, cheaper treatment now.

Battle Scarred web site

2009-09-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Battle Scarred website, which complements the Dispatches programme (which was aired Monday 7th September at 8pm) has now gone live.

The website offers exclusive video clips and stories about the psychological traumas suffered by many soldiers as a result of their time spent in combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan–some of which may take years to develop.

The site covers four topics; mental health, relationships, alcohol and suicide and each has a series of clips from ex soldiers and their families about how each of these has directly affected them. In a series of moving short videos, the clips tell the stories of how families can be left devastated by the suicide of their loved ones, how lives can be wrecked by trying to battle the demons of war with drink or drugs and how marriages and relationships can falter when a returning soldier tries to adjust to life back home.

There are also research articles into the background of each topic and a chance for anyone affected by them to comment on the issues and share their experiences.

There is a section for Help and Support and links to other websites which discuss the impact of combat on the psychological health of the people who serve in our military.

Photographs taken by serving soldiers and video clips taken with their mobile phones also give a sense of what life is like fighting in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and there are a series of portraits of ex-soldiers by the film-maker David Modell of all the people he spoke to in the making of Battle Scarred.

Please visit the site at www.channel4.com/battlescarred

Canadian troops lost to mental health problems

2009-09-09T01:40:00.000-07:00

A Canadian Veterans Affairs Department official recently said that over 20% of Canadian soldiers deployed to Afghanistan had subsequently left the armed forces because of PTSD or other psychiatric problems. The National Defence Department has been criticised for not working hard enough to help service personnel with mental health problems.

PTSD and ... Multiple Sclerosis

2009-09-09T01:31:00.000-07:00

A recent court ruling has raised new concerns about PTSD by concluding that it may have helped cause multiple sclerosis. It was argued in court that stress can at least spark individual attacks or make symptoms seem more intense, and the judge ruled that PTSD actually prompted or exacerbated a veteran's MS, overturning a review-board decision refusing the man a pension. The veteran said in an interview. "I could have maybe warded off MS had I been given the proper medical treatment when I needed it."

Whatever actually happened with this veteran's Multiple Sclerosis, this case underlines the need to get better organised with PTSD care, offering rapid treatment as soon as servicemen start to feel disturbed by their experiences. Now we know how to prevent these cases growing into entrenched disabilities it makes sense to use that knowledge.

Walking Wounded - Thanks to BBC Scotland

2009-09-07T05:41:00.000-07:00

Resolution would like to thank BBC Scotland for Walking Wounded, the film about veterans struggling with life after the Army. The film portrayed with terrible clarity the Kafkaesque nightmare faced by veterans as they attempt to find some peace in their lives while negotiating a pensions, benefits, housing and employment system that is almost guaranteed to wind up their anger and frustration. Sensitively produced by Stephen Bennett of Clarity Productions, the film portrayed some of the shocking truths about being a traumatised veteran without straying into voyeurism or sensationalism. Scottish national daily paper The Scotsman called Walking Wounded "a heartbreaking documentary... a powerful depiction of despair and neglect".

Walking Wounded - Film from BBC Scotland

2009-09-06T04:10:00.000-07:00

BBC Scotland's film 'Walking Wounded' is an emotionally charged and uncompromising look at the experiences of young ex-soldiers as they adapt to civilian life. It follows three veterans as they attempt to negotiate the difficulties of adapting to civilian life while struggling with the after-effects of their time in the Army. One of the three is Chris from Nottinghamshire, who suffers from acute post-traumatic stress disorder following his tours of Bosnia and Iraq during the first Gulf War. A spiral of anger, drink and depression ended in the loss of his family, business and home, leaving him sleeping rough in London. Moving to Edinburgh with the promise of a new life, Chris enters a maze of benefit systems and Veterans charities. Resolution is one of the organisations that offers him help, and the programme follows his progress. Walking Wounded shows what to expect if you are treated by Resolution, and you can see it on the BBC iPlayer here:

Andy MacNab and Liam Fox at the Opposition's Military Mental Health summit in Westminster

2009-08-06T01:50:00.001-07:00

President Obama's thoughts on PTSD

2009-08-06T01:40:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama hopes that increasing the size of the force will help to reduce incidents of stress. He told reporters at the White House yesterday that There is a direct connection between the problems of PTSD and the pace of military operations. Obama said he wants to reduce the incidents of PTSD. And one of the best ways to do that, he said, is to reduce the amount of time in theater without a break.

The US army is keeping some men on beyond their original contracts, and will temporarily be increasing the active force by 22,000 members That is step 1 in reducing stress. Obama sees screening as step 2 - getting the armed forces to talk about these issues, encouraging people to avail themselves of services while they’re in theater, but also when they get home. He acknowledged the “much more aggressive, systemic screening” that the Veterans Agency conducts for every veteran entering its system.

Step 3 is to provide mental health services to those who need them. He said throwing money at the problem by itself is not enough, but it does help by funding more counselors, mental health specialists and treatment facilities. The US VA now has over 18,000 mental health providers working on the stress problem.

Long-term PTSD doubles demetia risk - from International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2009

2009-07-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

There is mounting evidence that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), common among veterans returning from combat, may be associated with reduced cognitive function. Researchers are now looking at older veterans to see if PTSD increases the risk of developing dementia later in life.

Kristine Yaffe, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology and Associate Chair of Research for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry and Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and colleagues studied 181,093 veterans aged 55 and older without dementia. Of those included in the study, 53,155 veterans were diagnosed with PTSD and 127,938 veterans were not. Researchers followed the veterans from 2001 through 2007.

The researchers found veterans with PTSD were nearly twice as likely to develop dementia as those veterans without PTSD. Results were similar when researchers excluded veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury, substance abuse or depression.

"It is critical to follow patients with PTSD, and evaluate them early for dementia," Yaffe was quoted as saying. "Further research is needed to fully understand what links these two important disorders. With that knowledge we may be able to find ways to reduce the increased risk of dementia associated with PTSD."

Percentage of veterans with mental health problems jumps dramatically - from LA Times

2009-07-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

About 37% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have mental health problems, a nearly 50% increase from the last time the prevalence was calculated, according to a new study analyzing American Department of Veterans Affairs data. The study, which examined the records of about 289,000 veterans who sought care at the VA between 2002 and 2008, also found higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. “What’s really striking is the dramatic acceleration in mental health diagnoses, particularly PTSD, after the beginning of the conflict in Iraq,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Karen Seal, a staff physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and an assistant professor at UC San Francisco.

Another good reason to be treated

2009-06-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

There is a close association between PTSD and Heart Disease. Anew study reported in the August 2008 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine shows that having PTSD "significantly raises the risk of premature death from heart disease... [veterans with PTSD are] roughly twice as likely to die from heart disease during follow up as veterans without PTSD." The study was based on data from over 4,000 US veterans. There is a number of routes through which post-traumatic stress may be causing the damage that leads to heart attacks. The sooner trauma is successfully treated, the less damage should be caused.

Civilians get traumatic symptoms too

2009-06-30T03:52:00.000-07:00

The stress and anxiety caused by years of living under the rocket threat have left their mark on the children of Sderot. A study presented at a recent conference in Jerusalem revealed that 45% of the town's children under the age of six suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and that this is expressed through developmental regression, sleeping disorders or aggression.
The data, which has been collected since 2003, also indicated that 41% of mothers and 33% of fathers are suffering from PTSD and often experience flashbacks from difficult experiences and avoid places that remind them of rocket attacks.

PTSD and crime

2009-06-08T02:32:00.000-07:00

This story comes from Florida Today - but it could have come from any country with an active Army. Unknown numbers of British men and women are in prison following violent incidents. It is impossible to be sure that these incidents would not have happened if these men and women had not been traumatised, but at Resolution we do know for sure that successful treatment always reduces the 'arousal' symptoms, which include anger and a 'short fuse'.

"Some 19 months since he was involved in a confrontation with police outside his home, Afghanistan war veteran Joseph Brian Odom has reached a deal with prosecutors and is expected to enter a plea in court this morning. Since the incident in November 2007, the 31-year-old Odom -- whose family claims he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder -- has been held in the Brevard County Detention Center. He's charged with aggravated assault with a firearm while discharging a firearm, aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer while discharging a firearm, shooting into a building or vehicle and unlawful wearing of a bulletproof vest. Family members said Odom suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by Odom's service in Operation Enduring Freedom. They said he was fighting frequent nightmares, daily headaches and brief flashbacks prior to events that unfolded early Thanksgiving Day 2007. Sheriff's deputies said Odom shot at his wife, who called 9-1-1. He was wearing a military-style bulletproof vest and carrying a shotgun and an AK-47 rifle when he confronted officers who arrived at the couple's home just before 2 a.m. Odom had sought medical help through Veterans Affairs for growing anxiety and headaches. He had been prescribed anti-depressants and anti-psychotic and sleep drugs."

This story confirms once again that people with post-traumatic symptoms need help straight away. The right sort of help with enable them to sleep better and be calmer and more rational, and less likely to resort to alcohol, which often causes its own problems. If you have anger, flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks or other common post-traumatic symptoms - and you have served in the UK military - please feel free to call Resolution on 0845 021 7873. We'll call you back to save your mobile charges. Advice is free, as is treatment in many cases.

Stiff Upper Lip - 2

2009-06-06T04:48:00.001-07:00

It is a puzzle that the UK Army rate of PTSD is so low compared with other countries. Is it the sheer mental strength of the Briton when compared with those inferior foreigners? Er, no. Is it the budget limitations of the British Army - some research has suggested that the chance of getting PTSD depends on how much you exchange fire with the enemy, so being short of ammunition might be a good thing. Or is it the innovative mental healthcare scheme we were told about by a soldier who returned from a foreign assignment to be sat down in an aircraft hanger with the rest of the troops and asked 'Right, who's got PTSD"? Not wishing to be ridiculed for the rest of a short Army career he kept his hands firmly by his side. How many others were doing the same? Er, probably about the same number as report PTSD in those inferior foreign Armies, I suspect...

Stiff Upper Lip - 1

2009-06-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

An Australian psychiatrist believes Britain’s stiff upper lip culture, its class system and the NHS means we are not supporting the mental health needs of war veterans adequately. Speaking at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting in Liverpool, Professor Alexander McFarlane said Britain has a “peculiarly ambivalent” relationship with its armed forces. As a result, he believes British war veterans experiencing mental health problems are not supported as well as they are in countries like the USA and Australia. Professor McFarlane, who is professor of psychiatry at the University of Adelaide and head of the Australian Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health, claims there are a significant number of British troops with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who are not being treated. He cited a study published in The Lancet in 2003 which said that deployment in Iraq had not had any effect on British soldiers - apart from a slight increase in physical symptoms. In contrast, a recent study in the United States showed that 300,000 troops returning home has symptoms of PTSD and 322,000 had mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). Professor McFarlane said that soldiers tend to have a ‘stiff upper lip’ and do not readily complain – but British soldiers are just as vulnerable to PTSD as the military in other countries. Professor McFarlane pointed out that Australia has a special system of healthcare for veterans. The Australian government has recently conducted a review of veteran mental health, and released an extra AUS $80million for the welfare of veterans. But Britain has no separate government department dealing with the health of veterans, he said. Once someone leaves the armed forces, it is assumed that the NHS will treat any subsequent mental health problems. However, research has shown that veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder are often missed in the civilian health sector because staff are not adequately trained. Professor McFarlane said: “When you have a known infection like swine flu, there’s a major attempt to identify those who are at risk. I would argue that people who have served the nation have had a known toxic exposure and if we want people to volunteer for those roles we have to care for them. “There is a cost socially and morally if we don’t take care of these people.” He said: “The might of [Britain’s] empire was built on the cost of the lives and the suffering of its military, and historically it didn’t provide those veterans with healthcare and pensions. But we live in a different age now and the question is: Is the UK is trapped by its past?”

Resolution Video - About Us

2009-06-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest video from Resolution.... a little ablout what we do, and how to contact us.

We hope that you enjoy it and look forward to your comments!

What percentage of Veterans have PTSD?

2009-05-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

The figures quoted vary widely round the world - here is the latest estimate from Australia as reported by ABC News:

A mental health expert believes up to 10 per cent of war veterans are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the condition is leading to cardiovascular disease.

Associate Professor Mal Hopwood from Austin Health in Melbourne has addressed the Congress of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in Adelaide.

Professor Hopwood says the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has made improvements in treating PTSD, but more needs to be done.

"One of the current areas of concern is the gap some people experience between leaving the ADF and then receiving mental health care as an entitled veteran," he said.

"Sometimes that gap can take several years and clearly that's not ideal in terms of getting early intervention for mental health problems."

New book for people with physical pain

2009-05-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

Many people with psychological problems also find they suffer from physical pain which is either unexplained or is greater than it ought to be, given the physical cause. 'How to liberate yourself from pain' is the latest title from HG publishing, and was written by Denise Winn and Dr Grahame Brown of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust in Birmingham.

In the preface, Christopher Buckley, Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Birmingham, writes: “Dr Brown has a real gift for helping people heal themselves – I know: I’m one of them!”

If you have pain and would like to try a new approach to reducing it, this book could be useful.

The HGI's Practice Research Network

2009-05-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

As you may know if you have looked around the PTSD resolution website, our first-line treatment for post-traumatic symptoms is Human Givens therapy. We use it because it has so many advantages in practice: it brings rapid results, it works with most people, and it produces substantial reductions in post-traumatic symptoms without having to discuss the contents of sufferers' traumatic memories.

The Human Givens Foundation’s recently held its AGM, when HGI Research Fellow Dr. Bill Andrews (on the left) summarised how human givens therapists are currently producing the most robust and comprehensive data on therapeutic outcomes in the UK.

“Since data collection commenced in April 2007 within the Human Givens Institute Practice Research Network (HGIPRN) we are now able to profile the therapeutic journey of over 2,500 clients, involving over 90 therapists. Tracking client journeys all the way from referral to recovery helps us to accurately represent the impact of our treatments across a wide range of client populations.

We believe that for our practice-based evidence to be meaningful it must be robust, fully inclusive and comprehensive. At the moment, we are the only school of therapy doing this and the results to date are extremely promising.

We are committed to leading the field in this endeavour – you can read more about our work at www.hgiprn.org

At the HGI we encourage all our therapists to work in an outcome- informed way – so if you are a practitioner working in tune with the human givens, whether in training or fully qualified, and are not yet contributing your data, we urge you to please do so (see our website for details). You will help your clients, yourself and the cause, which is to improve mental health services nationwide.”

PTSD - what's it like? A Resolution client sent this.

2009-05-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ask any old soldier and he will tell you the importance of concentration when on the drill square, changing step on the march can find you floundering at the wrath of a red faced drill sergeant if your mind is elsewhere. Getting it together again as quickly as possible is vital for your dignity.

My path of spiralling madness and anger has brought me to rest at a place of peace and tranquillity, from where I can look back at my twisted approach to thishigher ground. I see a man adrift running like a rat in a maze, cart wheeling through streets of a Midland town asking strangers for his answer. I hear a hundred empty glasses slammed on a hundred sodden bar tops, see the head in hand agony of a drowning man, the fuming anger the spittle gathering and flying in surprised faces. The predictable foot fall from bar to bar the blurring of days and time the inevitable decent into a raging madness.

Unlike the voice that screams at you on the drill square and puts you back in place there is no voice out here. There are if you are lucky the words of those who have not yet deserted you, which almost inevitably you will ignore. There are the memories of what you were before all this, which tug and wake you in the night but are forgotten with the new day and the renewed anger at being still alive.

Then,if you survive all this there is the emptiness you feel when you see the wasted time and the damage you have wreaked on those around you.

Slowly, try to wash the rant from your mind let the fury pass through you and melt away, you will build nothing with your anger. You will not move one step with that heavy load. Smile at it like an old enemy,no longer a threat but passing you by on a busy street. Become something else, something born from an experience that you refuse to waste. Snap back into a pace that you set, rejoin the march but whistle your own tune from now on.

After all this you have earned your peace, your path will stretch before you to the horizon, and you will look back upon all that delivered you here, and not regret one day because everything you did brought you to this place.

MOORE

So many problems and they're all one

2009-05-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Governments, ours included, are in a bind: admit liability for the psychological distress of their armed forces and face an endless bill ($4Billion a year in the US to support Vietnam vets alone), or deny it is really a problem and still have to pay for the social, medical and personal carnage it causes. Which costs more? nobody knows. It's certainly time we found out. But we at Resolution know one thing, that much of this difficulty could be avoided by accepting one idea: treat people at the point when they start to feel ill, and treat them in a way that leaves them focussed on their life rather than their difficulties.

Once the trauma is under control you can move on and rebuild your life, and there are ten or so things that every human needs to have in place in order to do this satisfactorily. These are not profound, they are things like security, control, attention from others, membership of social groups, a feeling of competence and a sense that life has a meaning. These are fundamental needs for everyone, but it is hard for traumatised people to get these needs met. The wonderful thing is, though, that when post-traumatic symptoms have been reduced to the point where people can get these needs met properly, they start to feel part of things again. The feelings of isolation, unreality, differentness or whatever start to melt away.

You can't change the past, and the memories will always be there. But when treatment works well, as it usually does, they don't carry the same emotional charge they did. We're encouraging some of our former patients to write their own recovery stories now, and we'll post them here as they come in.

A stitch in time

2009-05-16T03:37:00.000-07:00

The problems caused by PTSD tend to multiply with time. Someone who has been traumatised may decide not to go to the pub, or to a reunion, in order to avoid reminders of the traumatic events. Or they may stop going to the cinema, watching TV or reading the paper for the same reason. The strategy of avoidance does work up to a point, but then it starts to create its own problems. We are a social species - we actually need to spend time with friends, comrades and family - and anyone who can't get these basic social needs met will start to feel more unwell. This in turn raises the overall emotional state, increasing the chance of the original PTSD symptoms becoming problematic, and so it goes on. As the cycle continues people may turn to alcohol or other drugs to numb the emotional results, and this can cause its own problems - it seems highly likely that many of the veterans now in prison would never have got there but for their post-traumatic symptoms.

This is why Resolution is so keen to spread the idea that PTSD treatment should be available as soon as anyone starts to feel disturbed by their memories. If you feel depressed or angry, or have flashbacks or nightmares as a result of military service why not look at the website, www.ptsdresolution.org and see how we work, and then contact us? Treatment is free in most cases.

Piers Bishop

Resolution director

0845 021 7873

FAQ

2009-04-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

The official purposes of Resolution

Resolution was established with three objectives: to treat veterans with mental health difficulties; to promote research into better ways of treating stress-related problems of ex-service people, in particular PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder); and to educate the public in the nature, causes and potential cures for these problems._

When did you set the charity up?

The Resolution project has been running since January 2007. It has operated to date as a project inside another well-established mental health charity, the Human Givens Foundation (www.hgfoundation.com) - Resolution is now incorporating as an independent charitable body with the Charity Commissioners.

What exactly does the charity do?

We provide one-to-one confidential sessions with one of our therapists on an out-patient basis. In the treatment, the objective is to break the link between the memory and emotional response. By reducing anxiety levels connected to the memories the patient is enabled to re-experience the traumatic event without further distress.

Resolution treatment is brief, so that there is no continuing reliance upon therapy. A course of treatment usually involves between two and six sessions, each of around one hour's duration. The goal is to enable each patient to return to as normal a family, social and work life as possible, in the shortest possible time. Progress is measured at the start of each session using the 'Impact of Events Scale', commonly used by trauma therapists.

Resolution treatment is based upon well-established methods developed for HGT (Human Givens Therapy), a branch of psychology and psychotherapy initially focused on the treatment of mental distress in the general population since 1997.

Resolution has access to a network of 150 therapists who are trained by and registered with the Human Givens Institute: It specialises in helping only former services personnel. The treatment programme is sensitive to the particular cultural background and trauma issues associated with the armed services. The methods used do not require the therapist to have any knowledge of the particular traumatic event: this ensures confidentiality and protects both the patient and therapist from further trauma. Unlike some other treatment settings, Resolution therapists work with all conditions that may co-exist with PTSD, such as alcohol and drug use, depression, anger and relationship issues.

Treatment uses a combination of 'deep relaxation', 'imaginal exposure' and 'cognitive reconstruction', all of which are components of treatments recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).

Why was it set up - a reflection of poor MOD/NHS care?

Resolution was set up to make therapy more available and more quickly to people who need it: the provision of NHS and other treatment services can be patchy in terms of waiting times and effectiveness.

A distinctive quality of Resolution's methods is that therapy is as 'humane' as possible: alternative treatments often require the patient to talk about the traumatic events responsible for the PTSD. It was found that with HGT (Human Givens Therapy), on which Resolution is based, that this is not necessary in order to deal effectively with the symptoms.

A further aim of Resolution is to promote more research through a Randomised Control Trial in two selected prisons, in order to qualify for formal approval by NICE.

What makes the charity different from others - (e.g. Combat Stress)?

Resolution offers treatment that is quicker, cheaper, more convenient, more private, and more effective than any other generally available treatment. Resolution is complementary to treatment offered by Combat Stress, (www.combatstress.org.uk) which provides longer term, in-patient support. Resolution offers an option for out-patient treatment which will usually enable the patient to be symptom-free in a very short period of time. A course is often available close to where patients live, through a large network of therapists around the UK, rather than requiring residential care, perhaps far from the patient's home.

There are no lengthy procedures to assess entitlement to help by referral, service record, or medical history, as in the case of most alternative services in the field: all ex-service people are eligible for treatment by a qualified therapist through Resolution, free of charge.

How many soldiers have you treated?

To date 50 ex-service people have received treatment from Resolution - although many thousands of stress-related cases from the general population have been treated with Human Givens Therapy, on which the Resolution treatment is based. There is outcome data on 599 of these in the HGIPRN study, showing a similar success rate and treatment duration to the Resolution cases.

Can you evidence the success that you have had?

Resolution is the outcome of a pilot project with The Falklands Veterans Foundation which helped a number of ex-service people to recover from PTSD after 25 years of symptoms: these can include nightmares, alcoholism, marriage breakdown and criminal convictions.

The method Resolution uses has better than 80 per cent success rate in treating PTSD in 50 UK veterans of the armed services to date, as measured using the 'Impact of Events Scale', a trauma measure recommended by the Department of Health. Over 600 further stress-related cases from the general population have been treated in a study using Human Givens Therapy, on which the Resolution therapy is based, available at http://www.hgiprn.org. HGT achieves a recovery rate of over 70 per cent, with a mean of 3.6 treatment sessions.

There have been several studies examining the success of the same core method in trauma treatment: including A new technique for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, Muss, D.C., 1991, BJCP, 30, 91-92, a report on the treatment of West Midlands Police officers with PTSD, and Elimination of post-traumatic symptomatology by relaxation and visual-kinaesthetic dissociation, Hossack, A., and Bentall, R. P., 1996, Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 1, a report on treatment of victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

What are the costs

A single treatment programme with Resolution costs £600: this is considerably less than almost every other form of private treatment currently available for PTSD, which often involve residential care. Resolution currently provides this treatment free of charge to the sufferer, and is seeking donations to pay for treatment for more ex-service people suffering these symptoms - many of whom may have been out of work for a considerable period of time.

For further information: www.ptsdresolution.org

There follows a personal story from the first person to be treated by Resolution. His is one of those cases where the sufferer would, in all probability, now be in prison if proper help had not been found. It is just one person's story, an anecdote in medical terms, but it shows how big a change can be achieved when things work well - which they usually do.

"It really is difficult to know where to start when telling my story so forgive me if any of it rambles. There are certain vital components however, these being:

I am a retired soldier of 22 years service from 1983 - 2005

I experienced traumas which at the time of occurrence I had no apparent problem dealing with.

I was not diagnosed with PTSD until I left service, I knew something wasn't quite right but had no intention of seeking help within the Army and jeopardising my career.

I joined the Army in 1983 and spent 15 years deployed in recognised areas of conflict, from Sierra Leone to the Gulf wars.

During this time my marriage deteriorated which in itself is unsurprising, however my behaviour which led to its inevitable break down after 22 years is typical of someone suffering from PTSD. I dissociated myself from almost all my family and friends took refuge in drink, all of these things considered normal by most of my colleagues.

There is really no need to relate the specifics of my service or particular incidents which created my PTSD. Rather more important is the difficulty I had finding the appropriate effective treatment.

By the time I came to my first session of treatment I had become homeless, started drinking heavily shown symptoms of manic behaviour, become far more familiar with members of my local constabulary than I ever would have wished. I had also self funded a two week course of treatment in the Woking Priory; this had recently become the services first line of treatment for servicemen suffering from mental health issues. I was quickly re-diagnosed with PTSD and informed by a charming consultant what my treatment would entail and how much it would cost. I spent the time enduring CBT sessions, (cognitive behavioural therapy) which in my case had no impact whatsoever. The therapists seemed at a total loss to really know what to do with me, and at least one confided in me that they where ill equipped to deal with returning soldiers, they still took my money! Interestingly whilst I was there 5 still serving soldiers where also supposedly receiving treatment at great expense to the British tax payer, none of them attended any of there sessions as they where not compelled to, they laid in, watched TV, went to meals and that was it, I was disgusted at the waste.

I returned to live with my parents. I continued drinking my nightmares and flashbacks intensified I sought physical confrontation and at one point goaded three men into beating the living daylights out of me which they did. I hated myself!!

I had been attending my local community mental health team talking in detail about events which had traumatised me, all that happened was that my flashbacks, nightmares and re-enactments intensified, I questioned the treatment but was told it was a normal reaction. Then my ex wife told me of the Human givens therapy she had heard of, I reluctantly agreed to give it a go.

I had my first session which did not involve any in detail discussion about my trauma; indeed my therapist still has no knowledge of the events which traumatised me. After the session I went away not knowing what to expect, that night my nightmares ceased, I became much calmer and to this day have not had one flashback or re-enactment episode, I threw out my anti depressants. I have re connected to those around me and been able to hold down a job. I can control my drinking.

I feel extremely sad about the two years I drifted through and wasted, and regret all the hurt I caused to those around me. But I now feel that I am able to get on with my life without the intrusive effects of PTSD.

I hope that the detraumatising therapy which healed me gets the recognition it truly deserves, and that it is the people suffering who get the opportunity to prove that. Not some stuffed shirt or bean counter in Whitehall. The treatment is quick and effective, the alternative is wasteful, and a large group of people who will put burden on an already overstretched NHS, a massive amount of money is already being wasted.

For someone suffering from PTSD there is nothing to lose in having this treatment, and the opportunity to get their life back".

About Resolution

2009-04-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

Resolution is the outcome of a pilot project with The Falklands Veterans Foundation which has helped many veterans recover from their PTSD after 25 years of nightmares - now available to anyone who has served with the armed forces or in an auxiliary capacity during a conflict.
Da Costa Syndrome in the Civil War, Shell-shock in the Great War, Going Psycho, Battle Fatigue, PTSD. It doesn't matter what you call it, and if doesn't matter to us whether you have a diagnosis or not - our only concern is to help you feel better, and we have a way of doing putting a stop to post-traumatic symptoms, fast.
We use relaxation and carefully controlled re-exposure to change the emotional conditioning attached to traumatic memories; ideas that can be found in other settings including some trauma-focussed CBT clinics, but put together in a new way that makes the treatment rapid and humane. It is done as an out-patient, it doesn't hurt, and it doesn't involve telling anyone what happened so it not is not humiliating or voyeuristic. Ask the soldiers, sailors, airmen and other veterans who have been through it.
Take a look round the website, read what people who have been through the Resolution process have to say about their experience. If you have nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks, anger, depression or other problems that date from events in your miltary service, help is at hand.

For more info see our website: http://www.ptsdresolution.org/