Diagnosis, Treatment, and Re-Integration for Soldiers with Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome - Thesis Example

Diagnosis, Treatment, and Re-Integration for Soldiers Who Return From Combat with Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) Interview with a Soldier Interviewer: How long have you been in the military? Interviewee: 10 years Interviewer: How many deployments to Southwest Asia? Interviewee: 4 Interviewer: When were you diagnosed with PTSD? Interviewee: 2005 Interviewer: Have you deployed since being diagnosed? Interviewee: Yes, three times Interviewer: How was the medical care from military doctors? Interviewee: Not effective. They were more of a sounding board and offered no solutions. My family was not part of the healing process. The military chaplains as well as physicians are nothing more than puppets for leadership. I felt the mission was more important than my health. Interviewer: What symptoms did you exhibit? Interviewee: Phobia of kids, nervous around fireworks and large crowds. I stopped communicating with my wife. I exhibited now emotion even when my wife miscarriage. I have become to feel more comfortable in a war zone. Interviewer: Have you suffered any physical injuries? Interviewee: Broke all fingers, sleep disk, and broken shoulder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Post-traumatic stress disorder is an emotional disorder, which comes as a result of experiencing an episode that prompts a severe stress response or reaction. Individuals who suffer from PTSD re-experience the traumatic episode throughout in their minds, and it is usually done through flashbacks and nightmares. The thoughts can become so severe and realistic that the person begins to dissociate, experiences minimized functioning in normal daily life and becomes a stranger to family members and friends. It is associated with other illnesses like substance abuse, mental and physical problems, and depression. Parenting concerns, relationship issues, and marital problems often disrupt the family system (Moon, 2006). Diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) The symptoms of PTSD include the individual having flashbacks or nightmares of traumatic events (even when the victim is awake), attempting hard not to think of the event or evading circumstances that remind the individual of it and feeling emotional detachment or numbness from people around the individual or his surroundings. Other symptoms include incapability to recall the specifics of the trauma, easily startled or feeling jumpy and hyper vigilance or being frequently on high alert (Cannoneer and Sherman, 2012). The aforementioned symptoms may be used an indication that individual suffers from PTSD. It is important to note that it is common for soldiers to want to find out why they are acting or feeling the way they do. However, knowing whether they suffer from PTSD is difficult. Only skilled behavioral professionals are capable of helping the soldier deal with what he is feeling. The provider is supposed to use his judgment and training to test and diagnose what is ailing the patient and interpret the outcomes to determine the possible best treatment. It is imperative to stress out that only trained professionals like mental health provider or a doctor should attempt to evaluate PTSD (Cannoneer and Sherman, 2012). Screening for a psychological disorder is a good way of identifying workers at substantial risk because of their different levels of exposure to trauma. The strategy entails identification of individuals at risk, screening them immediately and screening them again in approximately six months. Screening the individuals prior to exposure usually has little information to offer. The screening questionnaires have false positive and negative rates and individuals identified as potential risks and a substantial proportion of individuals who score below the cut-off points are supposed to be interviewed (Bryant and McFarlane, 2007). The setting of the interview offers an opportunity for the identification and the provision of general support of other management and organizational issues that put the individuals at risk and cause concerns. However, there are unwanted effects of screening, and they include encouraging individuals to complain of the symptoms although evidence indicates that offering information improves the outcomes. Research suggests that screening is also an effective method in the diagnosis and treatment of depression that is if it results in the implementation of treatment when there is appropriate resourcing and training of health services. It is worth noting that any form of screening in the occupational setting is supposed to be managed carefully in order to deal with matters of potential discrimination and disadvantage of the individual identified as being at risk (Bryant and McFarlane, 2007). It is important to mention that issues of under-reporting by symptomatic individuals can arise and this should be dealt in thresholds that determine who should get a diagnostic interview. A number of psychometric instruments have been used in emergency services to monitor the emergence of symptoms. The screening process should entail a fixed number of individuals who are asymptomatic, and they should be offered diagnostic assessment to eliminate the stigma of follow-up referral. Several shorter screening methods have been created, and they can be utilized if they regularly validate against a controlled diagnostic interview (Bryant and McFarlane, 2007). In most of the occupational settings, it is vital for the supervisors to detect signs that show the individual is suffering from some PTSD responses. The negative effect of traumatic episodes can reveal in various indirect ways, which the employers must be alert. As aforementioned, some of the symptoms include social withdrawal, somatic distress, performance deterioration, depression, interpersonal and family conflict, and increase use of alcohol (Bryant and McFarlane, 2007). The Army together with the Department of Veteran Affairs and other military services are standardizing the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. It has been shown that standardization increases the soldier’s degree of fairness and trust in the system (Vergun, 2012). Treatment and Re-Integration Treating PTSD is a tremendous challenge in the army, and this is because it is not like treating things such a bullet wound. One of the issues facing soldiers is the stigma linked with mental disorders (Vergun, 2012). Most of the soldiers feel reluctant to look for assistance for PTSD because of the culture in military that tells to become tougher no matter the situation. It has been cited that early treatment and not late treatment are the best alternative for treating PTSD because its symptoms tend to get worse over time. The symptoms can adversely affect the soldier’s life and create issues with their family members (Cannoneer and Sherman, 2012). Treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder starts with a comprehensive evaluation of the soldier and presentation of his or her issues. It is usually encouraged that the families take part in the treatment, particularly if the family is being affected by the symptoms of PTSD. During the evaluation phase, family and individual plans focus on a number of things. The family and the veteran are educated about PTSD, they are taught coping skills on how to deal with anger, guilt, anxiety, and stress. The assessment also involves exposure therapy (revisiting traumatic experiences) in order to minimize fear, medication management (such as antianxiety and antidepressants) and other interventions that are particularly tailored to meet the specific needs of the family (Moon, 2006). Counselors working with militaries and their families at times discover that talk therapy is not an effective treatment method. The reason may be due to the fact the revulsion of wars cannot be adequately expressed via words. Soldiers and their family members may discover that they require tangible means of expressing their emotions and thoughts. A therapeutic tool such as sand play therapy is particularly useful. The tool permits the client to generate a three-dimensional (3D) image in a sand box using toy miniatures. The method can be utilized with either adults or children, and it is usually done in the company of a trained therapist. An important benefit of the sand play therapy method is that it permits a client to express himself without speaking, therefore, generating an environment for healing (Moon, 2006). The sand play method is composed of a sand tray (rectangular box) measuring approximately 57×72×7 cm and is colored or painted blue on the sides and bottom. The traditional sand play utilizes two boxes, one for wet, and one for dry sand. It suggested that wet sand elicits more feelings and emotions than dry sand. When dealing with emotionally charged matters (like wars), therapists are supposed to select dry sand until they are certain that the client is ready to go deeper into their psyche. Sand tray miniature assortments entail “everything that is in the world, everything that has been, and everything that can be” (Moon, 2006, p65). The sessions in sand play are generally fifty to sixty minutes on length, and approximately thirty five to forty minutes are dedicated to the creation of the tray. The remainder of the time is spent on the discussion of the tray, and it involves the recentering of the client and noting its significance for the creator. After the client has left, the sand tray is photographed, and the therapist and the client later revisit the photographs. The photographs also serve as a crucial record for the progress of the client. It is crucial that the tray is dismantled by the therapist after the client has left. Majority of the sand play therapist are of the opinion that the tray is a sacred creation or construction that is not supposed to be destroyed by its creator (Moon, 2006). The client’s inability to participate in the destruction indicates that their work is crucial and highly valued. After the figures are removed, they are supposed to be returned in the precise position on the shelves. It is crucial to note that the shelves are arranged as follows; top shelf, sixth shelf, fifth shelf, fourth shelf, third shelf, second shelf, first shelf, and floor. It is important because it generates a resemblance of safety and permanence in a continuously changing world. The sand play technique can be utilized with the entire family or individually. The individual tray photographs can be shared with the rest of the family members during the family therapy sessions (Moon, 2006). It is crucial that during the generation of the tray that the rest of the family members stay supportive and silent and this is regardless of whether they disagree, or affected by the tray contents or are disturbed. The therapist is supposed to remind them that the tray is a representation of personal feelings that require to be given importance in the session. The entire family can also create group trays and in such a case, the members of the family work together in the creation of tray that is rich with family symbolism and meaning (Moon, 2006). References Bryant, R. A., & McFarlane, A. C. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder in occupational settings: Anticipating and managing the risk. Occupational Medicine, 57, 404-410. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqm070 Cannoneer, F. S. & Sherman, B. (2012). PTSD: Knowing what’s wrong, getting help. Retrieved from http://www.army.mil/article/81779 Moon, P. K. (2006). Sand play therapy with U.S. soldiers diagnosed with PTSD and their families. In G. R. Walz, J. Bleuer, & R. K. Yep (Eds.), VISTAS: Compelling perspectives on counseling, 2006 (pp. 63-66). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Vergun, D. (2012). Army standardizes PTSD diagnosis, treatment. Retrieved from http://www.army.mil/article/84928 Read More