Prof. Zahava Solomon - The psychological toll of Traumatic events – Theoretical and conceptual aspects

The Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel-Aviv University

MA in Coping with Stress, Crisis and Trauma

 

 

The psychological toll of Traumatic events – Theoretical and conceptual aspects

Semester I, 2011-2012

Mondays, 10:00-12:00

Instructor: Prof. Zahava Solomon

E-mail address: solomon@post.tau.ac.il

Office: Room 209

Telephone: 03-6409507

COURSE OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common and conspicuous psychiatric disorder that results from exposure to identified stressors. Yet, a considerable variability is observed in psychological responses to traumatic events. In fact, most trauma survivors do not succumb to traumatic stress and do not develop any psychopathology.

This course will review current models that shed light on the genesis and course of PTSD.

A systematic scrutiny of these models will be conducted using updated clinical and empirical evidence, with special emphasis on lessons learnt in Israel.

 

Issues to be discussed include:

• Introduction: Stress and Trauma
• Contemporary perspectives and classifications of ASR ,ASD
• Contemporary perspectives and classifications of PTSD
• Traumatic events  in Israel and their aftermath in civilians: (a) Acute responses and  stress reaction among Israeli civilians during the First Gulf War and (b) World Terror and The Second Intifada
• Traumatic events in Israel and their aftermath in soldiers and veterans (a) Combat Stress Reaction (CSR) and (b) from CSR to PTSD.
• Screening of a movie: "In the shadow of Helem Krav" and discussion
• Repeated exposure and reactivation.
• Complex PTSD (DESNOSE) – screening the documentary "Erim Balyla" (Awake at night)
• Complex PTSD: What have we learnt from exPrisoners of war?
• Delayed Onset PTSD
• Secondary Traumatization: (1) offspring of Traumatized survivors, (2) spouses of traumatized veterans.
• Resilience and Post Traumatic Growth.
• Screening of a movie: Waltz with Bashir and closing discussion about the effects of living in the shadow of trauma.

REQUIREMENTS

Attendance and participation - Attendance is mandatory. Active involvement in class discussion is encouraged.

Reading – For each class you will have to read the "required reading". The articles are accessible through the course internet site. Suggestions for additional reading are offered for each of the topics.

Final paper - Select a question in the area of traumatic experiences you would like to cover in greater detail. The paper is expected to deal with one of the topics covered by the course. Alternatively, the paper may focus on another relevant topic that was not directly discussed in the course (this will require the teacher's approval). Try to narrow down your research question. For example, you can ask "What are the factors associated with secondary trauamtization among wives of war veterans?"

Base you paper on a critical review of current academic literature in the domain (at least 5 literature items from the last 5 years, and another 5 from the last decade).
I am open to creativity, as long as your paper will be focused, well researched and well written. The goal is for you to learn and get excited about a topic. So, if you have another idea, feel free to consult me.
Papers should not exceed 15 pages (double space, not including references). All papers should be in APA format.

 

EVALUATION

Grading – the course grade will be based on the final paper and participation in discussions.

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE, TOPICS, READINGS

 

1. Introduction: Stress and Trauma-an overview

Reading:

• Herman Lewis, J. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books (Ch.1,2).
• Mangelsdorff, A.D. (1985). Lessons learned and forgotten: The need for prevention and mental health interventions in disaster prepearedness. Journal of Community Pyschology, 13 (3), 239-257.
• Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered Assumptions: Toward a New Psychology of Trauma. New York: Free Press.

2+3. Contemporary perspectives and classifications of ASR ,ASD and PTSD

Reading:

• American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Washington, DC: Author. 429-432.
• Isserlin, L., Zerach, G., Solomon, Z. (2008) Acute Stress Responses: A Review and Synthesis of ASD, ASR, and CSR. The American journal of orthopsychiatry.
• Solomon, Z, (1993) Combat Stress Reaction: The Enduring Toll of War. New York: Plenum (Ch.4).
• Spitzer, R.L., First, M.B. & Wakefield, J.C. (2007). Saving PTSD from itself in the DSM-V. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 233–241.
• McNally, RJ. (2009). Can we fix PTSD in DSM-V? Depression and anxiety, 26(7), 597-600.

4. Traumatic events in Israel and their aftermath in civilians: (a) Acute responses and stress reaction among civilians during the First Gulf War

Reading:

• Solomon, Z. (1995). Coping with war-induced stress: the Gulf War and the Israeli response. New-York : Plenum Press (Ch.3,6).

5. Traumatic events in Israel and their aftermath in civilians: (b) World Terror and The Second Intifada

Reading:

• Bleich, A., Gelkopf, M. & Solomon, Z. (2003). Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and coping behaviors among a nationally representative sample in Israel. JAMA, Vol. 290, 5,612-690.
• Rosenberg, A., Heimberg, R. G., Solomon, Z. & Levin, L. (2008) Investigation of exposure-symptom relationships in a context of recurrent violence. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 416-428.
• Besser, A. & Beatriz, P. (2010). Personality vulnerability, low social support, and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation under ongoing exposure to terrorist attacks. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29(2), 166-201.
• Stein, B.D., Elliott, M.N., Jaycox, L.H. Collins, R.L., Berry, S.H., Klein, D.J. & Schuster, M.A. (2004). A national longitudinal study of the psychological consequences of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: reactions, impairment, and help-seeking. Psychiatry, 67(2), 105-117.
• Solomon, Z. & Laufer, A.  (2005). The Trauma of Terrorism, Sharing Knowledge and Shared Care In the shadow of terror: Changes in world assumptions in Israeli youth. In Danieli, Y., Brom, D., Sills J. (Eds.) New York: Haworth, 353-364.

6. Traumatic events in Israel and their aftermath in soldiers and veterans (a) Combat Stress Reaction (CSR) and (b) from CSR to PTSD.

Reading:

• Solomon, Z. & Mikulincer, M. (2006). Trajectories of PTSD: A 20-year longitudinal study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 659-666.
• Yehuda, R., McFarlane, A.C. & Shalev A.Y. (1998) Predicting the development of posttraumatic stress disorder from the acute response to a traumatic event. Biological Psychiatry 44:1305-1313.
• Solomon, Z. (1993) Combat Stress Reaction: The Enduring Toll of War. New York: Plenum (Ch.3,4).
• Solomon, Z. (2001). The impact of PTSD in military situations. Clinical Psychiatry, Vol.62, 11-15.

7. Screening of a movie: "In the shadow of Helem Krav" and discussion.

Reading:

• Solomon, Z. (1993) Combat Stress Reaction: The Enduring Toll of War. New York: Plenum (Ch.5,6)

8. Repeated exposure and reactivation.

Reading:

• Solomon, Z., Garb, R., Bleich, A. & Grupper, D. (1987). Reactivation of combat-related post traumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144 (1), 51-55.
• Brewin, C.R., Dalgleish, T. & Joseph, S. (1996). A dual representation theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychol Rev, 103, 670-686(.
• Solomon, Z. & Ginzburg,  K. (1998). War trauma and the aged: An Israeli perspective. In: J. Lomranz (Ed.), Handbook of aging and mental helth. New York: Plenum Press.
• Solomon, Z. (1995). The effect of prior stressful experience on coping with war trauma and captivity. Psychological Medicine, Vol.25, 1289-1294.

9. Complex PTSD (DESNOSE) – screening the documentary "Erim Balyla" (Awake at night)

Reading:

• Ford, J.D. (1999). Disorders of Extreme Stress Following War-Zone Military Trauma: Associated Features of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or Comorbid but Distinct Syndromes? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 3-12.
• Herman, J.L. (1992). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 377–391.
• Ford, J.D. & Kidd, P. (1998). Early childhood trauma and disorders of extreme stress as predictors of treatment outcome with chronic PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 743–761.
• Van der Kolk, B. A. & Courtois, A. C. (2005). Editorial comments: Complex developmental. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 385-388.
• Pelcovitz, D., Van der Kolk, B.A., Roth, S., Mandel F. S., Kaplan, S. & Resick, P.A. (1997). Development a criteria set and a structured interview for disorders of extreme stress (SIDES). Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 3-17.
• Courtois, C. A. (2008). Complex trauma, Complex reactions: Assessment and treatment. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Practice, and Policy, 1, 86-100.
• Ford, J. D., Stockton, P., Kaltman, S. & Green, B.L. (2006). Disorders of extreme stress (DESNOS) symptoms are associated with type and severity of interpersonal trauma exposure in a sample of healthy young women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1399–1416.

10. Complex PTSD: What have we learnt from exPrisoners of war?

Reading:

• Solomon, Z.,Waysman, M., Neria, Y., Ohry, A., Wiener, M., Schwarzwald, J. (1999). Positive and negative changes in the lives of Israeli former prisoners of war. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol.18, 419-435.
• Waysman, M., Schwarzwald, J. & Solomon, Z. (2001). Hardiness: An examination of its Relationship with positive and negative long term changes following trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol.14, No.3, 531-548.
• Solomon, Z. & Dekel, R. (2005). PTSD among Israeli ex-Prisoners of war: 18 and 30 years after release. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 66(8), 1031-1037.
• Solomon, Z., Dekel, R., & Mikulincer, M. (2008) Complex trauma of war captivity a prospective study of attachment: and PTSD. Psychological Medicine, 38 (10), 1427-1434.

11. Delayed Onset PTSD

Reading:

• Andrews, B., Brewin, C.R., Philpott, R. & Stewart, L. (2007). Delayed-Onset Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 1319-1326.
• Andrews, B., Brewin, C.R., Stewart, L., Philpott, R. & Hejdenberg, J. (2009). Comparison of immediate-onset and delayed-onset posttraumatic stress disorder in military veterans. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118, 767-777.
• Bryant, R.A. & Harvey, A.G. (2002). Delayed-onset posttraumatic stress disorder: A prospective evaluation. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 205-209.
• [My paper]Smid, G.E., Mooren, T.T.M., Van der Mast, R.C., Gersons, B.P.R. & Kleber, R.J. (2009). Delayed posttraumatic stress disorder: systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression analysis of prospective studies. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 70(11), 1572-1582.

12. Secondary Traumatization: (1) Offspring of Traumatized Survivors, (2) Spouses of Traumatized Veterans, (3) Caretakers

Reading:

• Dekel, R. & Monson, C.M. (2010). Military-related post-traumatic stress disorder and family relations: Current knowledge and future directions. Aggression and Violent Behavior 15: 303-309.
• Herman Lewis, J. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books (Ch.6).
• Rosenheck, R. (1986). Impact of posttraumatic stress disorder of World War II on the next generation. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174, 319-327.
• Rosenheck, R. & Fontana, A. (1998a). Warrior fathers and warrior sons: Intergenerational aspects of trauma. In Y. Danieli (Ed) International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma (pp. 225-242). New York: Plenum Press.
• Rosenheck, R. & Fontana, A. (1998b). Transgenerational effects of abusive violence on the children of Vietnam combat veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 731-741.

Optional:

• Bride, B.E. (2007). Prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among social workers. Social Work, 52, 63–70.
• Dekel, R. & Baum, N. (2009) Intervention in a Shared Traumatic Reality: A New Challenge for Social Workers, British Journal of Social Work, 1-18.

 

13. Resilience and Post Traumatic Growth.

Reading:

• Agaibi, C.E. & Wilson, J.P. (2005). Trauma, PTSD, and resilience: A review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 6(3), 195-216.
• Bonano, G. (2004). Have We Underestimated the Human Capacity to Thrive After Extremely Aversive Events? American Psychologist, 20-28.
• Linley, P. & Joseph, S. (2004). Positive Change Following Trauma and Adversity: A Review. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, (1): 11–21.
• Zoellner, T. & Maercker, A. (2006). Posttraumatic growth in clinical psychology — A critical review and introduction of a two component model. Clinical Psychology Review, 26: 626–653.
• Park, C & Helgeson, V. (2006). Introduction to the Special Section: Growth Following Highly Stressful Life Events—Current Status and Future Directions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74 (5): 791–796.