PSYC 2800 Chapter 16: chapter 16.docx
12 Apr 2012
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Document Summary
Chapter summaries for the final psych 2200. Flashbacks and nightmares persist long after any physical danger has passed, often leading to emotional numbness and a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder. (ptsd). Traumatic event that may trigger ptsd include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, and military combat. Roughly 1 in 6 veterans of the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan are estimated to have symptoms of depression, anxiety, and ptsd, spurring intense interest both in understanding its neural basis and in identifying new ptsd treatments. Fifty years ago, the dominant view of ptsd labelled it as psychological problem in which individuals were trying to repress unpleasant experiences. The traditional treatment for ptsd has been psychotherapy. Patients are encouraged to imagine and talk about the stressful experiences they endured. But people are trying to forget rather than relive. A novel treatment based on virtual-reality simulations is being developed to determine whether ptsd treatment outcomes can be improved.
