Chapter 7 - Issues in conducting exposure therapy to treat combat veterans' PTSD

Abstract

Each war era brings with it unique nuances and social contexts that shape traumatic events, the way individuals perceive those events, and the availability of supportive social networks after such events. Individual dispositional factors add further variability. Most of the points stated throughout this chapter are based on clinical observations with veterans in the United States. It is reasonable to expect that the aforementioned factors may not influence posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom presentations similarly across different cultural and demographic groups. Further, as combat technologies continue to develop and new war theaters continue to emerge, it is expected that there will be new discoveries about the development, maintenance, and treatment of combat-related PTSD. Research into the etiology and treatment of PTSD represents a body of knowledge that can reasonably be expected to evolve as the role and structure of the military continues to be redefined.