ICD-11 Complex PTSD in Veterans: Advances in Treatment and Personalised Care
Edinburgh Napier University’s Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement, in partnership with the Scottish Armed Forces Evidence & Research Hub hosted Scotland’s inaugural conference on Armed Forces in Society, with the conference coming to a close on Wednesday 28 August.
The conference held a combination of research seminars, colloquiums, workshops, and public events. Professor Thanos Karatzias, presented compelling research findings on Complex PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in veterans, with a focus on advances in treatment and personalised care.
“My goal for today is to raise awareness about this relatively new condition, which was recognised in ICD-11 in 2019. It’s not every day that we have a new condition in a diagnostic system, so this is very, very big news in mental health. If we can assess it, we can do something about it, we can treat it”
Traditional PTSD treatments are backed by years of research, but complex PTSD needs attention. People with PTSD commonly have a cluster of three symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, and sense of threat. Complex PTSD is a condition of six clusters of symptoms containing the three of PTSD but additionally: affective dysregulation, negative self-concept, and disturbed relationships.
Prof. Karatzias talked about the effectiveness of modular therapy for veterans with CPTSD with a particular focus on ESTAIR which is a flexible, person-centred treatment targeting the symptoms of CPTSD sequentially. The results of the RESTORE trial are really encouraging for the effectiveness of ESTAIR for CPTSD but further research work is required in the field.
“My wish list is to have in a few years a range of effective treatments that can be used for people with different needs, and we are moving towards more personalised models.”
About Professor Thanos Karatzias
Professor Thanos Karatzias is the Head of Research in the School of Health & Social Care at Edinburgh Napier University and a Clinical & Health Psychologist at the Rivers Centre for Traumatic Stress in Edinburgh. He is the former Chair of the British Psychological Society Scotland Working Party for Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse (BPSSS) and he was a member of the Committee of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Crisis, Disaster & Trauma Section. He has spent his entire clinical and academic career working in the field of psychological trauma, particularly on interpersonal psychological trauma. In collaboration with national and international research partners he has developed a special interest in the effects and treatment of psychological trauma on physical and mental health; on general, prison, and veteran populations as well as on people with learning disabilities. In the last few years, he has worked on Complex PTSD and its treatment, a new condition in the recently published ICD-11.