Browsing by Subject "Military service members"

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    Art Therapy with Veterans: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature with Recommendations
    (2018) Davis, Heather E.; Misluk, Eileen
    Art therapy has been conducted with military servicemembers and veterans since the beginning of the profession itself. Veterans suffer from a myriad of diagnoses, some of the most prevalent being posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), combat trauma, military sexual trauma (MST), complicated grief, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression.Research exists that underscores the unique and vital role art therapy plays in the treatment of these diagnostic concerns; however, no known comprehensive literature review on the topic exists. An integrative, systematic literature review was conducted to gain an understanding of the format, setting, directives, materials, and approaches being used to treat veterans with art therapy. A total of 85 articles and books with a primary focus on art therapy with veterans were organized using the filing method recommended by Garrard(2011). A literature matrix was used to organize26 of the publications for comparison and to identify themes among the content. Themes emerged in all categories of the matrix. Notably, it was shown that 68.6% of the 85 pieces of literature had been published in the last five years. Recommendations for future research were made in response to these themes, such as the need to identify the specific therapeutic factors of art therapy rather than simply its efficacy in comparison to more traditional talk therapy approaches. Finally, opportunities were identified to standardize and streamline the use of art therapy with this population, which would benefit both the clients and the replicability of studies to bolster the generalizability and validity of findings.
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    White Matter Microstructure Is Associated with Serum Neuroactive Steroids and Psychological Functioning
    (Mary Ann Liebert, 2023) Umminger, Lisa F.; Rojczyk, Philine; Seitz-Holland, Johanna; Sollmann, Nico; Kaufmann, Elisabeth; Kinzel, Philipp; Zhang, Fan; Kochsiek, Janna; Langhein, Mina; Kim, Cara L.; Wiegand, Tim L. T.; Kilts, Jason D.; Naylor, Jennifer C.; Grant, Gerald A.; Rathi, Yogesh; Coleman, Michael J.; Bouix, Sylvain; Tripodis, Yorghos; Pasternak, Ofer; George, Mark S.; McAllister, Thomas W.; Zafonte, Ross; Stein, Murray B.; O'Donnell, Lauren J.; Marx, Christine E.; Shenton, Martha E.; Koerte, Inga K.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Military service members are at increased risk for mental health issues, and comorbidity with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is common. Largely overlapping symptoms between conditions suggest a shared pathophysiology. The present work investigates the associations among white matter microstructure, psychological functioning, and serum neuroactive steroids that are part of the stress-response system. Diffusion-weighted brain imaging was acquired from 163 participants (with and without military affiliation) and free-water-corrected fractional anisotropy (FAT) was extracted. Associations between serum neurosteroid levels of allopregnanolone (ALLO) and pregnenolone (PREGNE), psychological functioning, and whole-brain white matter microstructure were assessed using regression models. Moderation models tested the effect of mTBI and comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mTBI on these associations. ALLO is associated with whole-brain white matter FAT (β = 0.24, t = 3.05, p = 0.006). This association is significantly modulated by PTSD+mTBI comorbidity (β = 0.00, t = 2.50, p = 0.027), although an mTBI diagnosis alone did not significantly impact this association (p = 0.088). There was no significant association between PREGNE and FAT (p = 0.380). Importantly, lower FAT is associated with poor psychological functioning (β = -0.19, t = -2.35, p = 0.020). This study provides novel insight into a potential common pathophysiological mechanism of neurosteroid dysregulation underlying the high risk for mental health issues in military service members. Further, comorbidity of PTSD and mTBI may bring the compensatory effects of the brain's stress response to their limit. Future research is needed to investigate whether neurosteroid regulation may be a promising tool for restoring brain health and improving psychological functioning.