Treatment of Comorbid Disorders, Syndromes, and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to Childhood Maltreatment with STAIR-NT

Abstract. Background: Early interpersonal traumatic events, such as childhood maltreatment, increase the risk of developing complex posttraumatic stress symptoms. The biphasic treatment program STAIR-NT (Skills Training for Affective and Interpersonal Regulation with Narrative Therapy), developed specifically for this patient group, combines interventions to improve emotion regulation and interpersonal skills with narrative therapy. Objective: Many affected patients with PTSD after childhood maltreatment also suffer from various comorbid mental disorders and symptoms that can affect and impede the course and outcome of treatment with STAIR-NT. Method: Based on experience from a current treatment study, we provide recommendations for integrating treatment of comorbid mental symptoms into STAIR-NT. Results / Conclusion: Training affective and interpersonal regulation skills in the first treatment phase offers various interventions to efficiently adapt transdiagnostic mechanisms such as emotion dysregulation. In cases of severe comorbid mental disorders or symptoms, adding disorder-specific interventions to STAIR-NT may be indicated.

Existential Disruptions of Managers as a Collapse of Childhood Patterns: An Interpretative Phenomenological Investigation

This article presents the results of qualitative research on the lived experience of managers related to critical moments of practice that arise due to behavioral patterns acquired during childhood that are incompatible with their own mindsets. The research is based on interpretive phenomenological analysis and is enriched at the interpretive level with existential hermeneutic phenomenology perspectives. The article concludes that both childhood experience and adopted parental behavioral patterns that are not in accordance with their own mindset can lead to serious issues in managers' career development. These are typically dysfunctional interpersonal relationships, feelings of failure, and disrupted management activities and processes that affect career plans and personal life. The novelty of our approach lies in the fact that a phenomenological approach can be used not only to analyze traumatic childhood experiences and events, but also to reveal how a common family background can shape future business practice.

Cognitive restructuring and imagery modification for posttraumatic stress disorder (CRIM-PTSD): A pilot study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Cognitive restructuring and imagery modification for PTSD (CRIM-PTSD) is a new short intervention. It consists of the cognitive restructuring of core trauma-related dysfunctional beliefs about the self and the use of imagery to encourage more functional beliefs. A randomized controlled trial showed that CRIM was effective for reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) when it focused on the feeling of being contaminated. For this study, CRIM was adapted to treat PTSD symptoms more generally and after various types of trauma by addressing the patients' negative self-concept.

METHODS

Ten patients with PTSD received two assessment sessions, two treatment sessions, and a booster session. The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) was administered prior to and four weeks after treatment. Self-ratings, e.g., the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI), were administered at baseline, immediately posttreatment, and four weeks after treatment.

RESULTS

The participants showed significant improvements in both clinician-rated (d = 2.55; p < 0.01) and self-reported PTSD symptoms (d = 1.47; p < 0.01). One month after treatment, 9 patients no longer fully met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.

LIMITATIONS

The results are limited by the small sample size and the lack of a control group.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study suggests that addressing the negative self-concept of PTSD patients using a combination of cognitive techniques and imagery modification can effectively reduce PTSD symptoms. Further research is needed to assess the treatment's effects and stability in a randomized controlled trial.