Life-review and PTSD community counseling with two groups of Vietnam War veterans.

Abstract

Vietnam War veterans are aging into their late 60s and early 70s. In spite of an increase in older treatment-seeking veterans, none of the recommended PTSD psychotherapy techniques emerging within the past 3 decades includes integration of a life span perspective. In an effort to bridge the gap between PTSD and life span perspective interventions, this article describes an exploratory random-assignment, partial cross-over feasibility study that compared 2 different sequences of life review and PTSD group therapies with 2 groups of Vietnam War veterans (total N = 9) within a community-based Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Vet Center. Participants were assessed for PTSD symptoms, morale, satisfaction with life, and late-onset stress symptomology. Types of reminiscence factors (as scored on the Reminiscence Function Scale RFS) were also observed for significant changes from pretest to posttest. Findings suggest that the sequence of life review attendance before regular PTSD group therapy may contribute to clinically and statistically significant reduction in PTSD and late-onset stress symptoms, and improved life-satisfaction. Both group conditions also appeared to have some slight benefit for morale. By better elucidating the relationship among reminiscence, life review, and PTSD, these findings may contribute to more effective services for older veterans participating in Vet Center and VA PTSD programs nationwide.

Life review therapy for holocaust survivors (LRT-HS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

“…Civil war refugees will eventually get old and need an age-adequate trauma treatment. There is already the idea to combine LRT and exposure therapy to veterans [57]. But also aging survivors of traumatisation in childhood or adolescence will become a larger group requiring psychotherapy as society is aging.…”

Veteran Participation in Operation Song: Exploring Resiliency in a Songwriting Experience

“…Experiencing these stories through song and lyrics was described as giving another perspective to hear the same story potentially in a different way where others could truly listen and potentially have a better understanding. One study by Daniels et al (2015) found that a group of US Vietnam Veterans who participated in a facilitated reminiscence group showed greater improvement with PTSD symptoms in comparison to a standard psychotherapy group. Although this study was the only study known to this author that specifically looked at the impact of storytelling on military related PTSD, it does well in suggesting that the peer sharing of self-narratives focused on trauma in a group of peers has value for enhancing standard PTSD treatments.…”

“…When these fragments affect a veteran's perception of reality, they may find themselves stuck between worlds of past, present, and future. Studies have shown that songwriting (Baker et al, 2015;Tamplin et al, 2016), the telling and sharing of personal stories (Caddick et al, 2015;Daniels et al, 2015), and group music therapy (Bensimon et al,, 2012;Carr et al, 2012) have an influence on helping our minds restructure a positive sense of self in order to enhance or reestablish resiliency factors that could help find meaning again.…”

Design of Occupational Therapy Interventions for Middle-Aged and Elderly Family Caregivers

“…Life review is a method of narrative therapy and is often applied to psychotherapy. The object of implementation has also moved on from older adults to expand its scope of application to include different age groups [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. The clinical application of narrative therapy focuses on meaning-making, allowing the individual to interpret his/her own problems through dialogue.…”