Toward DSM-V: Psychophysiological (qEEG) Correlates of PTSD Subtypes

Observed & experiential integration (OEI): Discovery and development of a new set of trauma therapy techniques.

“…They also reported that this depotentiation continued, sometimes for months after application of bilateral brain stimulation. We observed this same spontaneously occurring continued recovery of participants during follow up assessments of OEI in a recent research study (Bradshaw, McDonald, Williams et al, 2011).…”

“…In the development and evaluation of OEI procedures, investigation through randomized clinical trial (RCT) has begun, and initial results show effectiveness for reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The results of these projects have been presented at professional conferences and are being published (e.g., Bradshaw, McDonald, Austin et al, 2011;Bradshaw, McDonald, Williams et al, 2011). One of the greatest challenges facing trauma therapists today is treatment of more complex versions of PTSD, including clients who present with considerable dissociation (Steele, van der Hart, & Nijenhuis, 2005;van der Kolk, 2002b).…”

“…One of the greatest challenges facing trauma therapists today is treatment of more complex versions of PTSD, including clients who present with considerable dissociation (Steele, van der Hart, & Nijenhuis, 2005;van der Kolk, 2002b). In our analyses of psychophysiological data from the last RCT, three preliminary subtypes of PTSD were identifiable using quanti-tative electroencephalography (qEEG; Bradshaw, McDonald, Swingle et al, 2011). Two thirds of the participants who responded to OEI had complex and/or dissociative forms of PTSD, suggesting that these techniques are not limited in applicability to clients with "simple" PTSD.…”

QEEG-Guided Neurofeedback for Anger/Anger Control Disorder

“…Previous observations (Bradshaw, Stewart, & Lauder, 2009;Denson, Pedersen, Ronquillo, & Nandy, 2009;Hammond, 2001;Walker, 2010) suggested that chronic anger may be associated with persistent excessive high-frequency beta activity (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) in one or more cortical areas and that poor anger control may be associated with excessive slowing (1-10 Hz) in cortical areas (Cz and=or C4). We hypothesized that downtraining of elevated high-frequency beta activity (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) in whatever cortical areas it was found would reduce anger and that downtraining of excessive cortical slow activity (1-10 Hz) at Cz and=or C4 would improve anger control.…”