Ptsd Research Shows 44% Reduction Of Symptoms

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - LOS ANGELES - Jul 29, 2017 - The first randomized controlled study evaluating the effectiveness of Somatic Experiencing (SE) shows a 44% reduction in PTSD symtpoms among the controlled group.  The study was recently published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, the most prestigious publication for trauma studies in the psychotherapy field.

“Finally we are able to add another evidence-based therapy to the treatment of PTSD,” said lead investigator Gina Ross, MFCC, Founder and President of International Trauma Institutes in the USA and Israel.  “This result will allow us to institutionalize SE methodologies in hospitals, the Veteran’s Administration, the judicial system and other sectors, etc.,” said Ross.

Ross and Prof. Danny Brom of the Herzog Israel Center for the Treatment of Psycho-trauma in Jerusalem, Israel, announced the results today after the publication in the Journal.  ITI-Israel Director Cathy Lawi, Ph.D. was also a research contributor.

“Our research subjects presented with a wide variety of traumatic events triggering PTSD.  They suffered from symptoms after accidents, motor vehicle crashes, assaults, terrorism, as well as war trauma for veteran members of the military,” said Ross.  “They participated in a series of 15 weekly one-hour sessions, experienced significant improvement of their PTSD symptoms, resulting in 44% of participants not longer fulfilling the criteria of the PTSD diagnosis.

SE is a body/mind-focused therapy used for PTSD and developmental trauma.  It integrates body awareness into the psychotherapeutic process, working directly with the autonomic nervous system responses, a unique approach not used by other PTSD treatment methods.  The focus is on creating awareness of inner physical sensations caused by the traumatic memories, and re-engaging the self-regulatory mechanisms to discharge the impact of the stress hormones.

SE differs from exposure therapy methods used for treating PTSD in that it does not require full retelling or recalling of the traumatic events. It approaches the traumatic material in small doses, allowing for a very compassionate process. In addition, clients learn self-regulatory mechanisms to help regulate their responses to future stress or traumatic events.

The research study results can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.22189/epdf.  Further information is available by contacting Gina Ross, MFCC at gina@ginaross.com