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PTSD: Is it Real?

A recent issue of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders (Vol. 21, 2007) focused on the troubling possibility that the PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) construct is not nearly as valid as has been assumed. The articles are both fascinating and provocative and are well worth reading. Read More

The Latest, Greatest Treatments for PTSD

At least in Britain, it’s official: psychotherapy works better than medication for PTSD. You shouldn’t be too surprised. The last time we covered PTSD (TCPR April 2004) we reviewed the SSRIs and found them to have evidence of only modest efficacy. Read More

Dr. Osser, as an attending psychiatrist at a VA unit in which you evaluate many patients with PTSD, how do you typically approach establishing a valid and reliable diagnosis of PTSD in your patients? Read More

Adding CBT to meds is effective, but slow

The results of the cognitive therapy component of the NIMH-funded STAR-D trial were finally released. Recall that in STAR-D, about 4,000 depressed patients were initially enrolled and were all given Celexa (citalopram) at an average dose of about 40 mg/day (see TCPR January 2007 for a rundown of STAR-D findings). Read More

Mindfulness meditation helps with depression of fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is usually considered a rheumatologic condition characterized by at least 3 months of widespread pain and the presence of tender points. About two thirds of fibromyalgia patients also suffer from depression, and many such patients eventually find their way to our offices. Read More

Monitoring alcohol use may be enough for some

Project Match was a large, government-funded research project conducted in the 1990s that showed equivalent benefit of AA, cognitive behavioral therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy in alcoholism. Researchers recently reported on an effort to test brief versions of the Project Match therapies for alcohol abusing patients. Read More