Article

Received 10.04.2023

Revised 03.08.2023

Accepted 31.08.2023

Retrieved from Vol. 13, No. 2, 2023

Pages 263 -278

Kovalenko, I., Berezan, O., & Pomohaibo, V. (2023). Post-traumatic stress disorder for military servants: Theory, research and treatment. Psychology and Personality, 13(2), 263-278. https://doi.org/10.33989/2226-4078.2023.2.288310

Post-traumatic stress disorder for military servants: Theory, research and treatment

Iryna Kovalenko Oleksii Berezan Valentyn Pomohaibo

Military service is associated with exposure to traumatic stressors, including war zone hazards, accidents, and other occupational hazards, which may place military personnel at increased risk for the developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The overall lifetime prevalence of PTSD among the world’s population varies between 10.0-11.3% for women and 5.0-6.0% for men. Among military veterans, the lifetime prevalence of the disorder is 13.4% and 7.7% for women and men, respectively. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the United States Department of Defense recommend a clinical methodology for the treatment of PTSD, which includes the following components: a diagnosis based on the criteria of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” of the American Psychiatric Association; the presence of a high risk of harming oneself or others; functional status including duty and level of work responsibility; risk and protective factors; treatment history; medical history of the patient and his family. At the same time, joint decision-making with the patient is assumed, the key components of which are taking into account the patient’s preferences, educating the patient and his relatives with the concept of psychological trauma and the peculiarities of the course of PTSD, joint consideration with the patient of the advantages and disadvantages of available treatment options. The PTSD treatment process necessarily must be trauma-oriented and include the following types of psychotherapy: prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, cognitivebehavioral therapy, brief eclectic psychotherapy, narrative exposure therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and written exposure therapy. For situations where clinicians are not trained in trauma-focused psychotherapy or when patients refuse to initiate treatment, pharmacotherapy or non-trauma-focused manualized psychotherapy that includes stress resistance training, life-focused therapy, and interpersonal psychotherapy is recommended. Despite certain successes in the treatment of PTSD, important questions remain unsolved. First of all, there is a lack of clinical research to compare the effectiveness of the many available psychological treatments in general and for active-duty military personnel in particular. It is necessary to continue research in the field of precision medicine, which will make it possible to choose the most effective treatment for PTSD for each serviceman individually. To resolve these and similar issues, further long-term, consistent studies conducted on representative samples are needed

post-traumatic stress disorder, military personnel, psychological trauma, stress, psychotherapy, precision medicine

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https://doi.org/10.33989/2226-4078.2023.2.288310