Biography:

Ray Mathis was a health education teacher for 33 years. He recognized early that the real problem was his students generated too much emotion in their lives. It’s why he became trained in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Education (REBE). He developed the “Mental and Emotional Tool Kit for Life” for his students. Since retiring from the classroom, he has represented the Chicago Institute for REBT and spoken to teachers and students in school and universities, and at state and national conventions to advocate for teaching the “tools” to all our teachers and students, and parents if possible. He believes the “tools” would be a major ounce of prevention worth many pounds of cures for so many of the mental health and other problems both young and older people so often struggle with. Like Dr Albert Ellis, he believes therapy should be educational, and education can be very therapeutic

Abstract:

In a 1969 speech to the APA, AG Miller said: “I can think of nothing that would pose a greater challenge to psychologists and that would be more relevant to human welfare than to discover how best to give psychology away”. The mental and emotional tool kit for life does that–gives psychology away. We have always had and continue to have too many people who generate more emotion than is helpful or necessary in response to their life events, more than they want to have, more than they know what to do with. Most mental illness is literally defined by generating a dysfunctional amount of emotion. This emotion drives and gives purpose to so many unhealthy, self-defeating, even dangerous behaviors, i.e. violence, abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide. These behaviors in turn lead to other problems, i.e. addiction, disability, premature death. The “toolkit” is based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Education (REBE) developed by the late Dr Albert Ellis. The “tools” can be taught to anyone and used by anyone to generate a more functional amount of emotion. They do so largely through cognitive restructuring. People can and will do much to help themselves if given the right “tools”. One of the most important “tools” is developing an internal locus of control. The majority of people walking the planet have an external locus and wrongly blame the events of their lives for how they feel. This needlessly puts them at the mercy of events and causes them to feel worse than necessary. We miss a golden opportunity to correct this while people are in our schools. Teaching them that they have more control over their emotional destiny than they realize would do much to help people generate a more functional amount of emotion in their lives.

Biography:

Gisele Fernandes is a licensed psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, organizational consultant, and graduate school professor. She has extensive training and clinical experience in body-oriented approaches to psychotherapy, using an integrative method that is rooted in somatic, humanistic-existential and transpersonal psychologies. Originally from Brazil, she began her career as a counselor in a hospital setting in Rio de Janeiro. From the beginning, she was interested in the body-mind connection and in holistic ways of understanding and treating the complexities of the mind-body system, both from the patient as well as the provider’s perspective. Since 2001, she has been working in the bay area in community mental health and private practice settings. Her therapeutic work integrates sensorimotor trauma approach, attachment-based psychotherapy, and mindfulness. She is a core faculty member at the California Institute of Integral Studies and has been teaching in academic settings since 2008.

Abstract:

Caring for others is a gift. Most people in the health and healing field find a deep sense of meaning in their work and consider it a vocation, a personal and purposeful path. At the same time, giving, caring and healing can take its toll: burnout and compassion fatigue are genuine dangers that can derail or shortcut practitioners’ careers. Whether you are a nurse or another care provider, being with the pain and suffering of others cannot only be draining at times but lead to a general sense of overwhelming, disenchantment and exhaustion. This presentation presents a model of holistic and integral intervention in preventing compassion fatigue in health care providers working in the clinic and hospital settings. The integral approach presented here originated out of a need to support psychological, physical and spiritual health and well-being in individuals and groups who are vulnerable to secondary traumatization and chronic stress in the workplace. It involves the use of yoga, guided imagery, breathing techniques, as well as discussions and psycho-education about compassion fatigue and effective self-care. The presentation addresses the use of cognitive and experiential practices to support healthcare providers in better-utilizing self-awareness and boundaries to prevent compassion fatigue.

Biography:

Ktiri Fouad is a clinical psychologist, a psychology teacher, a researcher and a yoga coach. His experiences in clinical psychology and yoga-relaxation allowed him to publish, in 2015, a paper book entitled "Stress-How to prevent and fight it-New psychological, spiritual, body and cognitive techniques". From 2009, he has animated conferences and participated in many radio psychological programs. His experiences as a physics and computer graduate helped him to combine psychology and mathematics, which allowed him to elaborate a new stress numerical model and published it on 2016. Now, he is continuing to do researches in psychology, and write articles weekly in Moroccan newspapers.

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a mathematical proof of the positive effects of relaxation therapy. We mathematically demonstrate that relaxation, practiced during a period of time, could relieve stress and even make us feel joyful. Based on our tri-transactional theory of stress, our demonstration uses the Ktiri-stress equation (S=PSS+ST) and the positive-negative stimuli notions. Our evidence of the positive effect of relaxation is based on the psychological fact that this therapy generates positive and reduces negative stimuli numbers. This phenomenon, meaning that a person practicing it will be able over time to be exposed to more positive and less negative stimuli, is mathematically expressed by using increasing and decreasing mathematical functions (x=at+b). This demonstration is applied to an example of a stress situation in which a person, supposed so much stressed, is much less exposed to positive stimuli which could fight his stress, and much more to negative stimuli. From this demonstration, which was possible by using mathematical notions, we deduced and developed mathematically two concepts. This latter, we called crisis and critical stress periods, correspond to intervals of time at the end of which the value of a person stress state starts to be reduced and to become neutral respectively.

Biography:

Merin Thomas is a graduate of College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and is currently pursuing her MSc in Psychiatric Nursing from the same institute. She was awarded the best oral paper at the 21^st World Congress of Mental Health (2017).

Abstract:

Background: The well-being of an ill person is directly related to the nature and quality of the care provided by their caregiver. These demands can bring significant levels of stress for the caregiver and can affect their overall quality of life.

Aim: To assess the effect of a composite package of laughter yoga on perceived stress, quality of sleep and caregiver burden among caregivers of mentally ill clients in AIIMS, New Delhi.

Methodology: A Quasi-experimental study of 60 caregivers of mentally ill patients split into control (n=30) and experimental group (n=30). The caregivers in the experimental group were administered 7 sessions of laughter yoga consecutively. The pre-test was taken before the intervention and post-test were taken on the 8th day and 14th day. Data was collected using Perceived stress scale, Pittsburgh sleeps quality index and Zarit caregiver burden.

Results: In the experimental group after 7 sessions of laughter yoga there was a significant reduction in perceived stress scores of the caregivers on 8^th day (p<0.001) and 14^th day (p<0.001); a significant reduction in quality of sleep scores on 8^th day (p<0.001) and 14^th day (p<0.001) and in the caregiver burden scores on 8^th day (p<0.001) and 14^th day (p<0.001) compared to baseline values.

Conclusion: Caregivers of mentally ill clients suffer from high levels of stress and caregiver burden as well as poor quality of sleep. Therefore, special attention should be given to managing the caregiver’s stress and burden so as to improve the quality of care provided by them.

Biography:

Abstract:

Effective interpersonal problem-solving skills have been identified as essential aspects for successful functioning in daily life. Patients with schizophrenia suffer significant psychosocial skills deficits which pervade all stages of illness. The ability to resolve interpersonal problems is a key aspect of the social functioning of adjustment, it is a skill in which many patients are deficient. However, a poor social competence is thought to be associated with less adequate behavior and vulnerability to relapse. If those patients learn interpersonal problem–solving skills from a systematic method and successfully apply them in their daily life, then the beliefs about self- competence in handling regarding interpersonal problems will develop and improve their adjustment and self-esteem. This study aimed to determine the impact of the designed intervention program on interpersonal problem-solving skills and self-esteem of schizophrenic patients.

Research design: The Quasi-experimental design was applied.

Setting: The study was carried out in a psychiatric medical center that was affiliated to Tanta University, Egypt.

Subjects: The participants of this study were thirty patients with schizophrenia, they were selected by convenience sampling method.

Tools of study: Tool (1): Interpersonal problem solving procedure (IPSP) created by researchers after review of literature and guided by The mean-end problem-solving procedure (MEPS), that developed by (Spivack.G, Shure.M, and Platt,J (1985), and Assessment of Interpersonal problem- solving skills (AIPSS), that developed by Donahoe. P et al (1990). Tool (2): Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES): This scale developed by Rosenberg, 1979. The intervention program: It developed by researchers after reviewing the literature, and guided by work of Pu Irene Qao.H, and Qenlu.S (1999). It was applied in small six groups; each group was composed of five studied patients. The program consisted of 12 sessions, 3 times per week for four weeks.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in favor of the post-intervention phase regarding Interpersonal problem-solving procedure and self-esteem as compared to the pre-intervention phase.

Conclusion: The program was effective in improving interpersonal problem-solving ability and self-esteem among patients with schizophrenia. The program was effective in reducing the stress level and improves coping strategies

Biography:

Anna Nakamura is a clinical psychologist and a PhD researcher in Japan. As a practitioner, she has been mainly working with cognitive and behavioral therapy to conditions such as depression and obsession. Through her clinical experience in hospitals and with education, her passion for improving mental health has increased and she learned the current status and issues in various clinical fields. As a researcher, she has a background of experimental psychology on perception and cognition. She has the ability to infer how the world is looked and felt by people that enables her to look from the depressed patient’s point of view. Her clinical and academic skills are advancing interactively, which makes her a unique expert in depression.

Abstract:

Background: Although depression as a state is qualitatively equal for both clinical major depressive disorder (MDD) and non-clinical groups, the state of non-clinical depressive symptomatology still has room for consideration. The negative bias of cognition in MDD has been intensively examined. In particular, negative bias in facial expression recognition leads to less satisfaction in the interpersonal relationship, which causes the aggregation of depression. Nakamura et al., first revealed that negative bias to sad facial expressions exists for non-clinical individuals with higher depressive symptoms. However, no research has examined the effects of the autism spectrum (AS) so far. Autism spectrum disorders involve a high risk of depression and facial expression recognition is a part of the “Theory of Mind”, which is typically inhibited in AS. The purpose of this research was to discover the effects of AS on non-clinical depression and on the negative bias to sad faces related to depression.

Methods: Negative bias was measured using facial task, displaying the whole facial stimuli (happy/sad faces at 4 intensity level), and asking participants to label stimuli according to three options: happy, neutral, and sad. Depression was measured by 2^nd edition Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and AS by Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Participants were 58 university students.

Findings: Although there was a significant correlation between AQ and BDI (r=0.47, p=0.003), AQ and the negative bias showed no correlation (r=0.09ns). Control of AQ, partial correlation of negative bias, and BDI were significant (r=0.36, p=0.03), which indicates that AS does not affect negative bias in depressive symptomatology.

Conclusion: This experiment first considered AS’s effects on negative bias in non-clinical depression and showed that the negative bias toward sad faces is independently due to depression. The findings can contribute to the understanding of non-clinical depression and its prevention.

Biography:

Amanda Mendez is a fourth year PsyD student at Loma Linda University, School of Behavioral Health. She has a growing interest in the mechanisms producing therapeutic outcomes. Her experience includes 10 years working with persons in crisis and histories of traumatic experiences, assisting them make changes in their lives. With the most recent three years as a clinician providing outpatient therapy, this clinical experience has revealed the importance of a therapeutic alliance, and understanding what helps others who are in need of change. Recognizing various strengths of therapists and growing in the knowledge of the many aspects and processes of therapy, has provided her strong motivation to conduct this research. Her ultimate goal is to expand research on the therapeutic alliance and therapist personality, inform the training of therapists in order to improve patient outcomes, and serve as a consultant to educate and inform other training programs.

Abstract:

The relationship between the therapeutic alliance and psychotherapy outcome has been well documented in the literature. The therapeutic alliance is considered a “main curative component” in the interpersonal process of therapy and is the foundation necessary for successful therapy outcomes across various orientations of psychotherapy. Still, far less research has examined the relationship between specific therapist personality characteristics and the quality of the therapeutic alliance. The current study was aimed at examining the relationship between several therapist personality traits and the therapeutic alliance. The study utilized the Working Alliance Inventory Short-Form (WAI-S) to measure the client-reported therapeutic alliance, and the NEO-FFI to measure therapist personality. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the relationship of agreeableness to the therapeutic alliance in groups of highly rated, average rated, and low rated working alliance. Therapists were grouped by the quality of their working alliance score and the scoring profile associated with each factor. On the NEO-FFI, agreeableness is divided into levels of low (T=35-44), average (T=45-55), high (T=56-65), and very high (T>65). Those who scored in the high range (T>56) of agreeableness demonstrate the highest levels of warmth, empathy, honesty, and trustworthiness. Results indicated that agreeableness was found to be significantly related to the quality of the therapeutic alliance (F[2, 39]=7.09, p<0.00). Overall, higher levels of agreeableness were associated with higher ratings of therapeutic alliance, as well as the highest level of participation in the study. These findings suggest that therapist agreeableness is one important ingredient in strengthening the therapeutic alliance and reducing premature dropout. These findings also suggest the importance of therapists better understanding their degree of agreeableness and, if necessary, working to develop greater agreeableness for the purpose of strengthening their therapeutic alliances with patients.

Biography:

Hamzah Alghzawi, University of Maryland, USA

Abstract:

Objective: People living with mental illnesses are two to four times more likely to be dependent on nicotine and have more difficulty remitting from nicotine use disorder (NUD). A growing body of evidence supports pharmacological interventions to assist smoking cessation in people with severe mental illness (SMI; i.e. lifetime major depressive disorder, bipolar disorders, or schizophrenia). Little is known about whether non-pharmacological treatment services are also associated with high probability of remission from NUD and whether the time from NUD onset until full remission from NUD differs by tobacco treatment services (pharmacological services, non-pharmacological services, or both services).

Methods: A population sample of 726 American lifetime adult smokers with SMI and a history of NUD who had a history of seeking tobacco treatment services were identified in a limited public use dataset of the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III). Individuals who did not meet any DSM 5 criteria other than craving in the past year were classified as having remitted. Participants self-reported ages of NUD onset and remission (individuals not in remission were censored at their current age). Survival analysis was used to compare the probability of remission from NUD and the time needed for full remission from NUD by tobacco treatment services. The analysis took into account the complex sampling design and controlled for possible confounders (i.e. sociodemographics) and covariates (i.e. comorbidity with another mental illness).

Results: The study sample was primarily female (61.2%), non-Hispanic White (84.4%), between 45 to 65 years of age (51.4%), from the south (32.0%) residing in urban areas (75.3%). Out of those who sought tobacco treatment services, only 32.3% had remitted (6% had used pharmacological treatment services, 41.7% had used non-pharmacological treatment services, and 52.3% had used both). The proportion that remitted with a history of pharmacological treatment services was 17.6%. Remission was more frequent among those using non-pharmacological treatment services (28.5%) or when both types of tobacco treatment services were used (19.6%). In models controlling for confounders and covariates, the probability of remission from NUD was higher among those who had non-pharmacological services (HR=1.95, 95%CI: 1.93, 1.97) or those who had both treatment services (HR=1.52, 95%CI: 1.52, 1.55) compared to those who only had pharmacological services. The average time needed for full remission from NUD was 35 years (95%CI: 32.2, 37.6) among the smokers who had non-pharmacological treatment services, compared to 37 years (95%CI: 32.1, 42.3) among those who had pharmacological services and 47 years (95%CI: 43.9, 49.8) among those who had both treatment services.

Conclusions: The current study suggests a clinical need for non-pharmacological interventions to promote the probability of remission from NUD among smokers with SMI. Psychiatric nurses could play a role in educating and encouraging smokers with SMI to seek and utilize non-pharmacological treatment services that might improve the probability of remission from NUD and facilitate prolonged abstinence.

Acknowledgments: NESARC-III is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) with support from the intramural program and National Institutes of Health.

Biography:

Thiago Amaro Machado is a specialist in Psychologists in hospital practice by Santa Casa de Misericordia. Psychologist reference of the in-patient areas in medical and surgical and area of smoking cessation of the Hospital Israelites Albert Einstein. Graduated in Psychology from Pontifícia Universidade Católica-Campinas.

Abstract:

Smoking cessation programs are faced with unsatisfactory results due to high dropout rates, low effectiveness, and high average costs. In this scenario, the mental health team of a large Brazilian private hospital developed and conducted a research on the effectiveness of long distance smoking cessation programs. The main objective is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this service model in smoking cessation. The program´s duration is twelve weeks, with both psychological and psychiatrical evaluations for the diagnosis and a treatment proposal. The assistance to the patient is conducted through electronic media. Eleven weekly basis appointments are scheduled it. Motivation interview and preparation techniques such consideration of barriers and benefits to change, counseling regarding about the advantages of decreasing the number of cigarettes until and the definition of the smoking cessation day is used during the initial smoking cessation until the patient reaches the maintenance stage. In psychiatric care, two electronic appointments are performed for a reassessment of the initially prescribed medication (bupropion and nicotine patch). Sixty patients were treated during the research. In a preliminary analysis, there was an 18% dropout rate with an overall rate of success in smoking cessation of 70%. For patients who completed treatment, this percentage reaches 85.71%. In a preliminary analysis, researchers observed that the use of an electronic technology improves adherence to the program since patients are able to maintain their normal daily routines, eliminating the loss of time to get to the appointment, thus decreasing absenteeism and improving the effectiveness of smoking cessation.

Biography:

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: People undergoing bone marrow transplantation may have some psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety, and physical symptoms as pains all along the process, especially during hospitalization. An investigation about a new preventive intervention to help people to cope with this event has been led. This program is divided into three subtasks: the first one is a new attentional bias modification task, the second one is an optimizing emotional regulation task and the third one is a mindfulness intervention. Each task aims to facilitate the realization of the next one. The program would be implementable at home and during hospitalization with a digital platform. Before implementation in hospital, a pilot study was conducted in the laboratory with the first subprogram.

Methodology and Theoretical Orientation: 38 students were recruited (Mage=22.6 , SD=7.2, Nexperimental condition=19). This attentional bias modification task consisted in detecting a positive picture amongst three others (negatives and neutrals), moving it toward the screen’s center and savoring the associated emotion. Before and after training they realized an eye tracker procedure in order to detect the presence of an attentional bias modification.

Findings: The increase of positivity bias (i.e. a longer fixation time on positive stimuli) was significantly greater in the experimental condition than in the control one. There is no significant decrease in negativity bias in the experimental condition as a control. The effects of the task on positivity bias tend to be greater for subjects with depressive symptoms.

Conclusion and significance: the First result of this pilot study provides interesting elements to pursue our investigations. Next step is to test the effectiveness of the second intervention (a positive psychology one) with the completion of the first task. Finally, we will test the whole program before proposing it to patients before and during their hospitalization.

Biography:

Dr. Han SJ has her expertise in evaluation and passion in improving the health and wellbeing. Her main area of research field is horticulture therapy, expecially dementic patients. Psychological evaluation tool and application of this method is of importance and, currently she is joing the clinical research developing functional food, shown above abstract. The necessary psycological evaluation would be of importance for the future outcome. Her visiting this congress is to explore the international activity of psychological evaluation, creates new pathways for improving healthcare. Both in hospital and education institutions, she would like to broaden the knowledge of medical, expecially neuropsycholical field. Her background or thesis is positive psychological analysis combined with horticulture therapy, which is the first attempt in the world.

Abstract:

Increasing aging population accelerate the prevalence of patients with dementia. They were initially complaining or unaware their cognitive decling, thus proper neuropsyological evaluations are sometimes missed. Recently, in addition to the developing medicine that targeting the amyloid plaque in case of Alzheimer’s disease, there are several important attention for the exploring the functional food that improve or at least delayed the progression of cognitive decline. Among the candidate for the Salicornia Europaea, a plant in the ocean,-the plant cannot grow in the salted environment-had been selected and explored the possibilities for its anti-choline esterate inhibitory effect, that lead to the improve the neuropsycholgical performance. In vitro and in vivo test had been shown effective and clinical trial with several series of psychological tests have be on going. To be able to use in human, efficacy and safety of this Salicornia Europaea should be of importance in order to review from KFDA (Food and Drug administration). Currently, improvement of K-MMSE and ADAS-cog are main primary endpoints in Korea. However, determining process selecting proper psychological test were not organized. Therefore, there can be possible limitation that mask the real efficacy of functional food approvement. If the result was not significant, different psychological tests should be remained for further evaluation of endpoint. International standard for applying psychological evaluation would be of benefit. More efficient detailed or reliable evaluation of psychological analysis that can be applied to the development of cognitive-enhancing medicinal food.   

Biography:

Susanna Mittermaier is a licensed psychologist, psychotherapist and author of the #1 international bestselling book, Pragmatic Psychology: Practical Tools for Being Crazy Happy. As a global speaker, she offers a new paradigm on psychology and therapy called pragmatic psychology. She is known for her revolutionary perspective on mental illness and for inspiring people all over the world to access the greatness they are beyond abuse and disease. She offers a different, healing perspective on pain and suffering, unveils people’s brilliance, and guides others to see problems and difficulties instead as possibilities and potent choices. Growing up in Vienna, Austria, she learned an enormous capacity to facilitate lightness, joy and ease in a unique and profoundly healing way. She studied to become a psychologist at the university of Lund in Sweden and worked as a psychologist, therapist and counselor at the university clinic in Sweden both in children oncology and in the mental health department. She also conducted numerous neuropsychological testing’s. She developed a new psychology, called pragmatic psychology. She has been featured in publications such as TV Soap, Maria 

Abstract:

Background: Pragmatic psychology started with the question, what else is possible for people with the diagnosis. Are they truly disabled or are those disabilities hiding not yet discovered abilities? As a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, I had started to investigate on this topic. I worked at the university clinic in Lund, Sweden with diagnosing, therapy, coaching, neuropsychological testing, and method development. The patient group was very diverse. People with ADHD, ADD, autism, OCD, depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance addiction, psychosis, personality disorders came to me for evaluation and therapy.

Objectives: The target with pragmatic psychology is to empower clients to know that they know. Most clients are used to receiving answers from experts rather than being their own experts. Pragmatic psychology is about having no point of view what is right and wrong, sane and insane. Pragmatic psychology uses questions to facilitate the client to find out what strongness is hiding behind the wrongness to open the doors to truly creating their lives. Psychology used to be the study of knowledge and became the study of behavior, fitting in and adapting to normality. Pragmatic psychology takes psychology back to being the study of knowledge for people to create greater lives than what can be achieved by controlling behavior. Diversity is being used as a strength and resource.

Methods: The methods used with pragmatic psychology are questions and tools to empower the client to know what they know. Questions empower, answers disempower. Every true question unlocks what has not been available as a possibility the moment before.

Results: Those are countless. ADHD patients being able to use their hyperactivity as a resource to create their lives and businesses. Depression and anxiety being discovered as extreme awareness that no longer, being overwhelming and having to be defended against, can be used as sources of creation. Patients coming for anger management discovering their potency that was covered by their labels. Everything is the opposite of what it appears to be. PTSD and abuse ceasing to haunt clients and the potency slumbering all those years behind the victimizing story being discovered. Clients saying that therapists having given up on them and who now see that they have what it takes to the greatness they truly are. Autism being discovered as a highly interactive and communicating group regardless of what is being said about that diagnosis. Client after client saying if I just had this perspective and those tools years ago my life would look totally different now.

Conclusions: What if having to have problems was no longer the paradigm to live and be on our planet? What if our past no longer determines our future but can be created and chosen as desired at every moment? What if we all knew what works for us no matter what is being put out there as conclusions and answers? Time to create a different world?

Biography:

Margaret Reece BA Hons is passionate about helping people with C-PTSD overcome their struggles. Through her life experiences of C-PTSD and the research of leading trauma experts, she aims to narrow the gap between therapist and client. A childhood, devoid of any predictable adult attachment figure, plus cumulative trauma, led to both emotions and thought processes shutting down. She was hospitalized, aged 19, for circa four years, given 30-40 ECTs, insulin therapy, and medication; no success. She divorced herself from professional help to avoid lifetime institutionalization. In her sixties, she sought professional help; she had been misdiagnosed, aged 19, with what would now be known as a schizo-affective disorder, and inappropriate treatment given. Two further misdiagnoses followed within the last ten years. The antipsychotic medication she had taken for 56years became unavailable, no warning; no substitute available. She set out to transform herself and others. Her book, Hope Restored: A guide to embracing the storms of C-PTSD is self-help, interspersed with memoir. It is being published later this year.

Abstract:

Statement: The traditional model of diagnosis, based on overt symptoms is outdated and leads to many misdiagnoses, inaccurate treatment, and potentially ruined lives. Medical advances in the last 5-10 years relating to the diagnosis of C-post-traumatic stress disorder, using physical evidence by means of imaging and biofeedback would revolutionize diagnoses, but it will be in vain unless:

1. The knowledge is made available to health professionals at all levels.
2. The treatment is made accessible to the masses, not just the select few, who can afford it.

Purpose: To integrate personal and professional perspectives relating to diagnoses and treatments of C-PTSD in the 1960s and today. No predictable adult attachment figure in my childhood to provide the necessary nurture needed for me to develop healthy life-coping strategies led to cumulative trauma. At age 19, I shut down, could feel no emotion other than fear, and was incapable of rational thought. I was hospitalized for 3-4 years, given inappropriate treatment, and discharged to manage what I considered to be a hostile world alone. In the 1960s, the traditional DSM classification was used, based on overt symptoms. C-PTSD as a diagnosis was virtually unheard of by most professionals. Clients were guinea pigs; many lives were ruined by inappropriate treatment, some institutionalized for life. Today, DSM classification is still the main source of diagnosis. No one is exempt from trauma, albeit in varying degrees. But as each of us is unique, so are our responses. How can one method of diagnosis fit everyone? But doctors do need guidelines. There have been tremendous advances, especially in the last 5-10years, which would enable doctors to base their diagnoses on physical evidence using imaging and biofeedback.

Result: Diagnoses can be made, based on the root cause, not just overt symptoms.

Conclusion: Unless this knowledge is made accessible to all professionals, and the treatment made affordable to the masses, misdiagnoses and ruined lives will remain as before.