Tampa, FLA (July 6, 2016) – The University of South Florida College of Public Health has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, Department of Behavioral Health (AMEDDC&S), to train military mental health clinicians in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), an emerging evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions.

The new contract with the AMEDDC&S represents the largest training of military clinicians in the ART protocol to date.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD is a mental health problem that may develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, such as those experienced by military personnel during combat. PTSD is a common public health issue, with about one in 10 men and two in 10 women in the United States developing it.

Kevin Kip, PhD, leads studies on Accelerated Resolution Therapy at USF.

The Army educates and trains its medical personnel at AMEDDC&S, which is based in Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. The contract with USF will provide training in ART for military psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers. A total of 80 military clinicians will be trained, 20 at a time, at Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Fort Drum, N.Y.

ART was developed in 2008 by Laney Rozenzweig, a mental health practitioner who previously served as visiting assistant professor at the USF College of Nursing under the direction of Kevin Kip, PhD, Distinguished Health Professor at the USF College of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Beginning in 2010, all empirical research on ART has been conducted exclusively at USF, primarily under the direction of Dr. Kip. This has included three studies funded separately by the U.S. Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Army Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center, and the Chris T. Sullivan Foundation.

Based upon research evidence amassed at USF, ART was federally recognized in November 2015 as an “effective” evidence-based treatment for psychological trauma and depression.

 “The Army’s interest in ART relates to its evidence-based classification, but also the brevity of the therapy and other desirable features that may relate to treatment success,” Dr. Kip said. “The ART protocol is delivered in just one to five sessions, which is significantly shorter than conventional psychotherapies in use by the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration, including prolonged exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy.”

The ART protocol does not require the patient to verbalize or write about past traumatic experiences, but rather to mentally relive the experience and then imagine a new positive way to remember the experience, Dr. Kip said.   “It uses an innovative process known as memory reconsolidation, which is a way in which the brain actually changes the way in which memories are stored and recalled.”

The new U.S. Army contract with USF represents the largest training to date of military clinicians in ART, an emerging evidence-based therapy for PTSD.

An example of the basis of ART can be obtained from the recent NOVA special entitled, “Memory Hackers.”

The Army training sessions will be conducted over four day intervals, and at the conclusion of the training sessions, all clinicians will be sufficiently proficient to begin using the technique immediately.

 Previous training of military clinicians in ART has occurred at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.; Fort Belvoir, Va.; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Benning, Ga.

 Under the direction of Dr. Kip, multiple research studies of ART among both civilian and military populations are being conducted and designed. A recent pilot study of ART among civilians for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain was completed with promising results, and studies for treatment of traumatized children are being pursued. In addition to seven peer-reviewed publications, ART continues to be profiled in widespread media outlets including the Daily Beast. 

According to Dr. Kip, a long term goal of the research program is to “amass sufficient evidence such that ART becomes widely recognized as a first-line and often preferred method of treatment of symptoms of PTSD across a range of patient populations.”

More information on the new Army training contract can be obtained by contacting Dr. Kip at kkip@health.usf.edu. 

-USF College of Public Health-
Established in 1984 as the first college of public health in the State of Florida, the USF College of Public Health is a recognized leader in community health, online education, maternal and child health, social marketing, and global infectious disease research. The college offers multiple online and on-campus concentrations that lead to MHA, MPH, MSPH, DrPH, and PhD degrees, as well several dual degrees, graduate certificates, and special programs.  To learn more about the college and its 1700 students who commit to passionately solve problems and create conditions that allow every person the universal right to health and well-being, visit www.publichealth.usf.edu.

-USF Health-
USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and the USF Physicians Group. The University of South Florida is a Top 50 research university in total research expenditures among both public and private institutions nationwide, according to the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Media Contact:
Natalie D. Preston, USF College of Public Health
(813) 974-7714, or npreston@health.usf.edu

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFlX3k2Km0

In the aftermath of a the recent mass shooting at an Orlando night club, Glenn Currier, MD, MPH, chair of the USF Health Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, sat down with USF Health Communications to talk about community, family and individual healing after traumatic events.

Dr. Currier specializes in emergency psychiatry, including the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.   While commonly associated with a traumatic event like military combat, symptoms of PTSD can emerge after experiencing any potentially life-threatening events such as natural disasters, community violence, serious accidents and physical or sexual assault. Most survivors of trauma return to normal, but for some the stress reactions do not resolve on their own or even worsen over time.

“With PTSD you feel trapped in the trauma long after it’s over – the re-experiencing of the situation and the detachment from day-to-day life as you go forward is really the hallmark of the illness,” he said. “We’ve also come to appreciate that more secondary kinds of exposure to things, like a shooting, a robbery, a fire, may also lead to PTSD. So, if somebody you love is hurt or if something cataclysmic happens in your town, it’s possible to develop these symptoms as well.”

For more of our conversation with Dr. Currier click on the following videoclips:

When to seek professional help following trauma

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXp4vSgKf0s

Helping your children cope with community violence

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCDAdLbFTRQ

Finding common ground to support one another

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZeCPo0-JUQ

Videoclips by Sandra C. Roa, USF Health Communications

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) classified as an effective therapy for PTSD and depression from SAMHSA program

Tampa, FL (Nov. 24 2015) – Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), a brief and safe treatment for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) studied at University of South Florida College of Nursing, has been officially recognized as an effective therapy for veterans, service members and civilians by the National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

Diego F. Hernandez, PsyD, (left) a licensed clinical psychologist, demonstrates Accelerated Resolution Therapy, ART for short, with veteran Brian Anderson at University of South Florida College of Nursing.

NREPP, which is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found ART to be an effective psychotherapy for PTSD, depression, stress, and personal resilience. ART was also classified as a promising therapy for symptoms of phobia, panic, anxiety, sleep and wake disorders, disruptive and antisocial behaviors, general functioning and well-being. See details here.

“The completed studies have shown ART to be a brief, safe and effective therapy for individuals suffering with PTSD and depression – including those who previously tried other therapies provided by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Kevin Kip, PhD, distinguished USF Health professor and executive director for the College of Nursing’s research center. “So, this recognition from NREPP is a great step toward making ART a first-line or potentially preferred treatment approach for PTSD across civilian and military settings.”

The USF College of Nursing, under Dr. Kip’s leadership, has been exclusively studying ART since 2010. This therapy, founded by licensed therapist and USF ART clinician, Laney Rosenzwieg, LMFT, is part of the college’s Restore Lives – an initiative designed to develop research and education programs that meet the needs of veterans, service members and their families. So far, USF Nursing has completed three ART studies, and more publications are in the works.

In its independent review, NREPP looked at all ART publications and clinicians’ training materials. Key to the review were results from the second ART study, which enrolled and treated 57 service members and veterans. In that randomized controlled trial, ART was shown to substantially reduce symptoms of PTSD in two-thirds of participants in less than four treatment sessions. Details on this study can be viewed here.

Kevin Kip, PhD, executive director of the USF College of Nursing Research Center, has led the college’s studies investigating the effectiveness of ART since 2010.

PTSD is a major public health challenge among veterans, service members and civilians in the United States. According to the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, more than eight million Americans suffer from PTSD, depression or other related symptoms every year. PTSD symptoms can be debilitating, and treatment is extremely costly.

As a result, USF Nursing’s ART clinical team, including Rosenzwieg and Diego Hernandez, PsyD, assistant professor and ART clinical director, have conducted clinical training with military clinicians, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and social workers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and other military bases in Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort. Belvoir, Virginia, and Fort Hood, Texas.

“I’m really proud of this research team including Dr. Hernandez, Rosenzwieg, Sue Girling, senior research coordinator, Trudy Wittenberg, research compliance administrator, and the large cadre of highly skilled ART clinicians,” Dr. Kip said. “Through our collective efforts, we can make major strides in fundamentally changing the way psychotherapy is practiced.”

For more information on ART click here.

–USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

Media contact:
Vjollca “V” Hysenlika, USF College of Nursing Communications
(813)974-2017, or vhysenli@health.usf.edu

The USF College of Nursing leads research on a novel technique to alleviate veterans’ symptoms of combat-related and military sexual trauma. 

By Saundra Amrhein
On a recent spring morning, Artricia James-Heard walked into the office of a therapist trained in an innovative technique being studied by researchers at the University of South Florida.

Upon entering, James-Heard, a Navy veteran who had been sexually abused in the military, was a woman prone to nightmares. To sleepwalking onto the front porch where her own screams would wake her. To hallucinations, a short temper and a general malaise that often left her yelling and angry at her husband and children.

But that day when she walked out of the office, a fog had lifted. She could breathe easily for the first time in years. She saw clearly – as if her brain had been cleansed like the windshield of a car going through a carwash and scrubbing – both inside and out. In the days and months to come, she slept soundly, regained lost energy – and became the loving mother and wife she always longed to be.

Navy veteran Artricia James-Heard with her youngest son Devean, 11.

“They gave me my life back,” James-Heard said of the treatment and research.

That treatment – called Accelerated Resolution Therapy, or ART – has been under study at the USF College of Nursing for more than four years, showing remarkable results among initial participants, namely military veterans and civilians with symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Since the inception of the first study in 2010 under  lead investigator, Dr. Kevin Kip, executive director of the USF College of Nursing Research Center, the ART research has branched out. From focusing on combat-related trauma among active duty and military veterans, it now includes those who have been traumatized by sexual violence in the military. Meanwhile, through the training of professional therapists and service providers, the benefits and relief of the therapy are spreading to thousands of veterans and service members across the country.

“The need for this kind of therapy is great,” said Diego Hernandez, clinical director of the ART research program at USF. “The potential for ART is tremendous.”

Now considered an epidemic in the United States, PTSD is particularly prevalent among military veterans and service members – ranging up to 30 percent of Veterans Administration patients who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What’s more, the New York Times reported in 2012 that the rate of suicide among active-duty military personnel eclipsed the number of troops dying in battle.

But another cause of PTSD in the military, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, is military sexual trauma (or MST). It estimated that of veterans who use VA health care services, nearly a quarter of women reported sexual assault while in the military. More than half of women and more than a third of men reported experiencing sexual harassment while in the military.

Counterclockwise from upper left:  Artricia James-Heard with son Matthew, 14; husband Michael, retired Navy Master-at-Arms; daughter Michelle, 16; and son Devean, 11.

Hernandez suspects that a large number of MST victims don’t seek treatment because of the military’s insular culture and the past nature of its chain of command in reporting complaints – particularly when those responsible to address sexual misconduct are the perpetrators.

The effects of previous stress or combat-related trauma can be compounded by sexual trauma and the silence that surrounds it.

USF researchers are reaching out to MST victims as part of the most recent stage of their ongoing study of ART in efforts to have the therapy officially classified as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. An earlier stage of their research that included civilian victims of sexual assault, as well as military veterans and active-duty service members, showed very positive results after two to five sessions of ART.

The premise of ART hasn’t changed.

It works though two steps: the first is imaginal exposure where the relaxation response is provoked by having the patient continuously move his or her eyes from left to right, following the movement of the therapist’s hand, while the patient imagines traumatic experiences free of verbalizing the details.

The memories trigger physiological reactions, such as an increased heart rate and sweating, and each distressing symptom is addressed until relief is experienced. Next the therapist asks the patient to reimagine the experience, only now instead of facing the onslaught of fearful sensations and helplessness, the patient reorders the memories with the aid of constructive and positive thoughts.

Researchers are still not quite sure how, but the act of performing horizontal eye movements during therapy helps the brain return to a healthy processing of memory – like organizing files in a file cabinet. It rescripts the memory and allows for clear recall of the event but now with the body in a relaxed state.

Diego Hernandez (left), clinical director of the ART research program at the USF College of Nursing, demonstrates the technique of accelerated resolution therapy.

“It allows the brain to process all the components of a memory such as the images, sensations, feelings and thoughts on a deeper level and move it to the past where is it no longer experienced with distress,” Hernandez said.

And unlike traditional lengthy therapies that have been used to treat military veterans with PTSD, it requires little verbalization that belabors the details of excruciating memories, no homework, no medications and – very importantly – is showing improved sleep and drastic reduction of PTSD symptoms in just two to five sessions.

“The traditional methods aren’t addressing the particular needs of our combat veterans with multiple deployments and constant engagements,” Hernandez said.

Researchers from USF have been training mental health professionals in ART at Fort Benning, Georgia, including at the Ranger Performance Enhancement Center; at Fort Belvoir in Virginia; and will do so in April at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

Locally there are four USF ART study locations throughout Central Florida where ART therapy is being conducted and data collected. That includes locations in Orlando, Clearwater, and two in Pasco County – the Pasco County Jail and the Veterans Alternative Center.

“At USF,” Hernandez said, “we are training therapists and collaborating with other independent researchers and if the findings remain consistent, ART has the potential to change the way psychotherapy is done, particularly with our service members who would not have to live with events for years, only to receive help once things have become progressively worse.”

“Imagine a world,” he added, “where mission debriefings could be followed by ART to discharge the physiological intensity of combat, so that our service members can come home with the same clarity and purpose with which they served.”

James-Heard says the ART she received at USF eased her debilitating symptoms and helped restore her energy. Here she tries her hand at making pasta during a local Wounded Warrior Project health and wellness event.

James-Heard received ART in Tampa through therapist Mireya Martin, who has been a part of the studies conducted at USF.  In follow-up sessions over the course of a year she continued to see a transformation in many areas of her life – including with family relationships and career goals. She now runs her own credit-counseling business and was invited to contribute a chapter to the second edition of a book called “Transform Your Life.”

With her mind clear and relaxed, she can focus on the present – and the future.

“It’s so possible,” she said. “I’m living proof of it.”

That similar shift has been life-saving for other military veterans like “Dave,” a 30-year-old former Army Ranger. For years, he was haunted by flashbacks and nightmares. He would be going about his day when suddenly an image would intrude – one of many faces of someone he had worked on as a medic during more than 30 military missions to the Middle East the past 10 years.

For nearly that long he sought relief through traditional talk therapy, took prescription medications for panic disorder. Nothing worked. Then one day, to stop the relentless torment in his brain and pain in his body, he brought a razor to his wrist and tried to kill himself.

Kevin Kip, PhD, executive director of the USF College of Nursing Research Center, leads the USF studies investigating accelerated resolution therapy, or ART.

After Dave’s suicide attempt, a buddy drove hours to see him. Trying to save his life, he told Dave about the ART study and program at USF.  A nonprofit organization near Dave’s hometown paid to fly him to Tampa to participate in the study and undergo ART treatment with Dr. Hernandez.

Dave finally found the relief he sought for a decade. For the first time in years, he has been sleeping soundly and focusing on something other than his recurring trauma. He is looking forward to the next stage of his life, considering returning to Tampa to seek a nursing degree at USF. He hopes other Rangers and military veterans who either avoid or drop out of other lengthy therapies can find ART to help stop years of needless suffering.

“If it wasn’t for a friend of mine driving up to tell me about this,” Dave said of ART, holding up his deeply scarred wrist, “I wouldn’t be here.”

Photos courtesy of Artricia James-Heard and the USF College of Nursing.

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The research suggests Accelerated Resolution Therapy may be an option for veterans who do not respond optimally to conventional therapies endorsed by the Department of Defense and VA

Tampa, FL (Dec. 2, 2013) –Accelerated Resolution Therapy, or ART, is a brief, safe, and effective treatment for combat-related symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans and U.S. service members, researchers at University of South Florida College of Nursing report in a new study. They found this newer treatment — a combination of evidence-based psychotherapies and use of eye movements — was shorter and more likely to be completed, than conventional therapies formally endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration.

The findings appear online today in advance of December’s print issue of Military Medicine, the international journal of AMSUS.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_bi0eW_WsU

Kevin Kip, PhD, FAHA, professor and executive director for the Research Center at the USF College of Nursing, led the team of scientists and clinicians who conducted the first randomized controlled trial of ART in a military population. The trial enrolled 57 service members and veterans, primarily from the Tampa Bay area.

“Based on this trial and an earlier study completed at the USF College of Nursing, we believe that accelerated resolution therapy may provide the quickest way to effectively and safely treat post-traumatic stress disorder,” Dr. Kip said. “Our goal is to obtain enough evidence and interest to warrant classifying ART as a potential first-line treatment for PTSD among both civilian and military personnel.”

“Dr. Kip’s work on this project has been phenomenal,” said Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, senior associate vice president of USF Health, and dean of the College of Nursing. “ART has been a cornerstone of RESTORE LIVES at USF Nursing as we continue developing research and education to advance the health care received by veterans, service members and their families.”

ART works in two phases to alleviate psychological trauma symptoms and related disorders such as depression and anxiety.

The patient first visualizes in his or her mind a prior traumatic experience which typically elicits uncomfortable physiological sensations like tightness of the chest, increased heart rate and sweating.  Then, through talk therapy and a series of rapid left-to-right eye movements in which the patient follows the clinician’s hand back and forth, the sensations are minimized. In the second phase, and with similar clinician input, the patient “replaces” the distressing images they have seen with positive ones in a way that the original distressing images can no longer be accessed. ART is delivered in two to five one-hour sessions, requires no homework, and no written or verbal recall of the traumatic experience.

Diego F. Hernandez, PsyD (left), a licensed clinical psychologist, demonstrates Accelerated Resolution Therapy, as veteran Brian Anderson follows his hand movements.

“Through this therapy, we’re able to quiet down and separate physiological symptoms that come with re-envisioning a traumatic experience,” Dr. Kip said. “We can also alter or replace the traumatic images and add positive material to them. We are changing how images are remembered in the brain.”

It worked well for Brian Anderson, a former Green Beret, 10-year Army veteran and director of the Pasco County Veteran Services and Stand Down program.  He had tried an endorsed first-line PTSD treatment known as prolonged exposure therapy, which was very lengthy and worked for a while, but then symptoms like hyper-vigilance returned.

“ART changed my life,” Anderson said. “This brief therapy took the bad memories that constantly resurfaced and put them in the proper order or long-term storage; it was almost like I was thinking about a time in history. As a veteran, I would much rather go through a therapy that works, in only a few sessions, than sit through intensive and grueling sessions that last as long as 16 weeks.”

In this study, researchers compared ART to a non-therapeutic PTSD treatment called attention control (AC) regimen. Clinicians treated half of the 57 study participants (29) with ART, and the other half (28) received AC, which consisted of either physical fitness assessment and planning or career assessment and planning. After initial treatment, both groups received a three-month follow-up assessment.

“Before and after these interventions, we compared the response analyzing reductions in PTSD symptoms, depression and anxiety, and the results were very impressive,” Dr. Kip said. “In an average of less than four ART sessions, participants had very substantially reduced symptoms of PTSD, while those who received AC did not.”

After the AC regimen, all veterans had the opportunity to receive ART, and in the full study, 94 percent completed treatment. Favorable results persisted at three months.

Kevin Kip, PhD, executive director for the Research Center at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, led the team of scientists and clinicians who conducted the first randomized controlled trial of ART in a military population.

The USF College of Nursing recently began its fourth and largest ART study. Researchers will recruit 200 veterans and service members suffering from PTSD, including a high representation of those who were sexually abused or previously treated with other PTSD therapies. They will also study the cost-effectiveness of ART, and further examine how and why the therapy works.

PTSD is a prevalent, disabling disorder that can emerge following a life-threatening event or traumatic experience. Those experiences create chronic symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disturbances, mood swings, and loss of interest in life. According to PTSD Foundation of America, one in three troops returning from combat suffers PTSD symptoms, although less than 40 percent seek help. The organization also reports that at least five active duty military members attempt suicide every day.

“Accelerated resolution therapy is giving hope to many veterans who felt like they had no hope,” said Lt. Col. (Ret.) Lawrence A. Braue, EdD, director of the USF Office of Veterans Services. “I look forward to the day when this treatment is widely available across the country. USF College of Nursing faculty and staff genuinely care about our veterans, and that means the world to any veteran.”

For more information about ART or current studies visit USF College of Nursing’s RESTORE LIVES.

Article citation:
“Randomized Controlled Trial of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for Symptoms of Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” by Kip, Kevin E.; Rosenzweig, Laney; Hernandez, Diego F.; Shuman, Amy; Sullivan, Kelly L.; Long, Christopher J.; Taylor, James; McGhee, Stephen; Girling, Sue Ann; Wittenberg, Trudy; Sahebzamani, Frances M.; Lengacher, Cecile A.; Kadel, Rajendra; and Diamond, David M; Military Medicine, Vol. 178, No. 12, December 2013, pp. 1298-1309(12)

-USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 43rd  in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

-RESTORE LIVES at USF NURSING-

Through ‘RESTORE LIVES AT USF: Education and Research to Rehabilitate and Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families’, USF College of Nursing faculty develop life enhancing treatments through nursing research, and educate nurses with the knowledge and skills specific to the needs of the military, veterans and their families. The ART study is an example of type of innovative research that the USF College of Nursing is developing to improve the health of our honored service members and veterans.

Video and photos by Andy Faza, USF College of Nursing Communications 

Media Contact:
Vjollca “V” Hysenlika, College of Nursing Communications
(813)974-2017 or vhysenli@health.usf.edu

USF Nursing extends Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) internationally after showing promising results in the United States

Tampa, FL (Sept. 12, 2013) – The University of South Florida College of Nursing is conducting the first Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART ) study with British Armed Forces veterans suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Pilot Study of Delivery of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) by Scottish Registered Nurses in Mental Health for Treatment of Military Psychological Trauma” is funded through a grant developed as a partnership between the USF College of Nursing and University of Stirling School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health (SNMH) in Scotland.

Since the therapy has shown success in the United States, the USF College of Nursing is working with University of Stirling SNMH to extend the study abroad. Kevin Kip, PhD, FAHA, professor and executive director for the Research Center at the USF College of Nursing, and James Taylor, RNMH, MSc, teaching assistant at University of Stirling SNMH, are co-principal investigators.

“British soldiers have served in an extraordinary manner side-by-side with U.S. service members in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Dr. Kip said. “We believe these soldiers, many suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, will benefit in a parallel manner to the excellent results we are observing in treating U.S. service members and veterans with ART.”

“Through POWER with Nursing, our Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research initiative, we can really change what happens in healthcare around the world. Partnering with the University of Stirling for this ground-breaking research study, we are beginning a transformation in health care, a transformation of people’s lives,” said Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, senior associate vice president of USF Health, and dean of the College of Nursing.

Kevin Kip, PhD, professor and executive director of the USF College of Nursing Research Center, is co-principal investigator of the collaborative study.

ART, a new and brief psychotherapy that treats psychological trauma and related symptoms such as depression, is studied by Dr. Kip as part of RESTORE LIVES at USF NURSING. In the psychotherapy session, the patient first re-imagines a prior traumatic experience, and then “replaces” distressing images and sensations with positive ones. This is accomplished through talk therapy with a clinician and performing sets of eye movements from left to right, a process that results in substantial symptom relief, according to findings of the first study of ART at the USF College of Nursing. The study results appeared in an on-line article published June 18, 2012 in the journal Behavioral Sciences.

“We believe that ART can be a viable and effective treatment for PTSD around the world,” Dr. Kip said. “This will be the first research study whereby the ART protocol will be delivered by nurse mental health professionals. It is our goal to train and conduct research with mental health professionals from a range of disciplines, and in diverse locations worldwide. Professional nurses with a strong mental health focus can be leaders in disseminating ART on an international basis.”

PTSD is a prevalent, disabling anxiety disorder that can emerge after experiencing life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, and physical or sexual assaults at different life stages. According to the PTSD Foundation of America, one in three troops returning from combat is diagnosed with PTSD symptoms. Of those, less than 40 percent seek help. The organization also reports that at least five active duty military members attempt suicide every day.

PTSD symptoms have also been on the rise among British Service Armed Forces personnel. The number of PTSD cases among UK troops doubled in 2012, according to the United Kingdom’s Defense Analytical Services and Advice Agency.

“The University of Stirling and the USF College of Nursing are both successful research and teaching schools who aim to transform education for nurses and the quality of healthcare for patients and their relatives,” Dr. Lauder said. “Hopefully, the ART research we are jointly conducting here in the UK will provide new support and hope for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Dr. Kip recently traveled to Scotland with Laney Rosenzweig, the founder of ART program, to provide a seminar on the therapy to students, faculty and staff. They also offered a three-day ART training to four highly skilled Scottish clinicians from National Health Services (NHS) Valley — a hospital system that provides healthcare services for Forth Valley region in Scotland.

“This is the first time ART training has been delivered and studied outside the United States, the first time mental health nurses have been trained, and the first research project using ART on a UK military veteran population,” Taylor said.

“Our partnership with the University of Stirling provides amazing opportunities for faculty to collaborate on comparative research evaluating how nursing and other healthcare interventions affect patient outcomes in the United States and Scotland,” said LaRon Nelson, PhD, RN, NP, assistant professor and assistant dean for Global & Community Affairs at USF Nursing. “This is exactly the type of global partnership that will yield innovative solutions for our rapidly evolving healthcare system.”

Through, our Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research, the College extends the reach of collaborations that stretch across the region, nation and globe. POWER with Nursing provides opportunities to collaborate with the USF College of Nursing on important initiatives such as research, interprofessional education, and expanding USF global nursing programs.

-USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50^th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

 -RESTORE LIVES at USF NURSING-

Through ‘RESTORE LIVES AT USF: Education and Research to Rehabilitate and Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families’, USF College of Nursing faculty develop life enhancing treatments through nursing research, and educate nurses with the knowledge and skills specific to the needs of the military, veterans and their families. The ART study is an example of type of innovative research that the USF College of Nursing is developing to improve the health of our honored service members and veterans.

Media contact:
Ashlea Bailey, College of Nursing Communications 
(813)396-964, or ahudak@health.usf.edu

The USF researchers unexpected finding has implications for treatment of PTSD and related disorders

Low doses of a psychedelic drug erased the conditioned fear response in mice, suggesting that the agent may be a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions, a new study by University of South Florida researchers found.

The unexpected finding was made by a USF team studying the effects of the compound psilocybin on the birth of new neurons in the brain and on learning and short-term memory formation. Their study appeared online June 2 in the journal Experimental Brain Research, in advance of print publication.

Psilocybin, which exerts psychoactive effects, has been isolated from certain mushrooms.

Psilocybin belongs to a class of compounds that stimulate select serotonin receptors in the brain.  It occurs naturally in certain mushrooms that have been used for thousands of years by non-Western cultures in their religious ceremonies.

While past studies indicate psilocybin may alter perception and thinking and elevate mood, the psychoactive substance rarely causes hallucinations in the sense of seeing or hearing things that are not there, particularly in lower to moderate doses.

There has been recent renewed interest in medicine to explore the potential clinical benefit of psilocybin, MDMA and some other psychedelic drugs through carefully monitored, evidence-based research.

“Researchers want to find out if, at lower doses, these drugs could be safe and effective additions to psychotherapy for treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders or adjunct treatments for certain neurological conditions,” said Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and Helen Ellis Endowed Chair for Parkinson’s Disease Research at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

Dr. Sanchez-Ramos and his colleagues wondered about psilocybin’s role in the formation of short-term memories, since the agent binds to a serotonin receptor in the hippocampus, a region of the brain that gives rise to new neurons. Lead author for this study was neuroscientist Briony Catlow, a former PhD student in Dr. Sanchez-Ramos’ USF laboratory who has since joined the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, a translational neuroscience research center located in the Johns Hopkins Bioscience Park.

The USF researchers investigated how psilocybin affected the formation of memories in mice using a classical conditioning experiment. They expected that psilocybin might help the mice learn more quickly to associate a neutral stimulus with an unpleasant environmental cue.

                        Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos

To test the hypothesis, they played an auditory tone, followed by a silent pause before delivering a brief shock similar to static electricity. The mice eventually learned to link the tone with the shock and would freeze, a fear response, whenever they heard the sound.

Later in the study, the researchers played the sound without shocking the mice after each silent pause. They assessed how many times it took for the mice to resume their normal movements, without freezing in anticipation of the shock.

Regardless of the doses administered, neither psilocybin nor ketanserin, a serotonin inhibitor, made a difference in how quickly the mice learned the conditioned fear response.  However, mice receiving low doses of psilocybin lost their fearful response to the sound associated with the unpleasant shock significantly more quickly than mice getting either ketanserin or saline (control group). In addition, only low doses of psilocybin tended to increase the growth of neurons in the hippocampus.

“Psilocybin enhanced forgetting of the unpleasant memory associated with the tone,” Dr. Sanchez-Ramos said. “The mice more quickly dissociated the shock from the stimulus that triggered the fear response and resumed their normal behavior.”

The result suggests that psilocybin or similar compounds may be useful in treating post-traumatic stress disorder or related conditions in which environmental cues trigger debilitating behavior like anxiety or addiction, Dr. Sanchez-Ramos said.

Article citation:

“Effects of psilocybin on hippocampal neurogenesis and extinction of trace fear conditioning,” Briony J. Catlow, Shijie Song, Daniel A. Paredes, Cheryl L. Kirstein and Juan Sanchez-Ramos; Experimental Brain Research, published online June 2, 2013; DOI 10.1007/s00221-013-3579-0.

August 1, 2012 (Tampa, FL) – Researchers at the University of South Florida College of Nursing have shown that brief treatments with Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) substantially reduce symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  including, depression, anxiety, sleep dysfunction and other physical and psychological symptoms. The findings of this first study of ART appear in an on-line article published June 18, 2012 in the journal Behavioral Sciences.

ART is being studied as an alternative to traditional PTSD treatments that use drugs or lengthy therapy sessions. The talk therapy uses back-and-forth eye movements as the patient fluctuates between talking about a traumatic scene, and using the eye movements to help process that information to integrate the memories from traumatic events. The two major components of ART include minimizing or eliminating physiological response associated traumatic memories, and re-envisioning painful or disturbing experiences with a novel technique known as Voluntary Image Replacement.

Diego Hernandez, visiting assistant professor of nursing,demonstrates a technique used in Accelerated Resolution Therapy.

For the initial study, researchers recruited 80 adult veterans and civilians, ages 21 to 60, in the Tampa Bay area. Before receiving ART, patients were tested for symptoms of PTSD and depression, with the vast majority testing positive, 80 percent for PTSD and 90 percent for depression. After treatment using ART, the research team reported a dramatic reversal in symptoms.  In as few as one to four sessions, those showing symptoms had decreased to only 17 percent for PTSD and 28 percent for depression.  Improvements were also seen in trauma-related growth and self-compassion in just one to four treatments.

“From this initial assessment, ART appears to be a brief, safe, and effective treatment for symptoms of PTSD,” the report concludes.“Early results are very promising,” said principal investigator Kevin E. Kip, Ph.D. FAHA, professor and executive director of the USF College of Nursing Research Center. “Most people who came in to be treated had very high scores for PTSD, and after treatment, the majority had very large reductions. The treatment also reduced other symptoms, like depression, as well as improved sleep.”

Lead investigator Kevin Kip, PhD

 According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), PTSD has become an epidemic in the United States. Recent NIH statistics show more than 7.7 million American adults and as many as 31 percent of war veterans suffer from PTSD. They experience mild to extreme symptoms, often with greatly impaired quality of life and physical and psychological functioning. ART is a particularly promising alternative to traditional PTSD treatments, because it uses no drugs, has no serious adverse effects, and can improve symptoms in -few therapy sessions. The compelling results achieved principally with civilians in the first study prompted the USF College of Nursing to seek expansion of a second ongoing ART study, funded by the U.S. Army, to veterans and reservists in Las Vegas.

“As part of RESTORE LIVES at USF, the innovative nursing research being conducted by Dr. Kip and his team demonstrates our commitment to the health and welfare of our nation’s military, veterans and their families,” said Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, senior associate vice president of USF Health, and dean of the College of Nursing.  “The results that the ART studies have shown so far are truly amazing, and offer new hope to those suffering from PTSD.”

Last week, the USF research team traveled to Las Vegas to conduct the first mobile ART study with military reservists.  “We are happy about our collaboration with USF College of Nursing,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Raul Rojas, commanding officer for the Naval Operations Support Center (NOSC). “We’re honored to be the first West Coast study site for the USF College of Nursing’s ART study. We hope our relationship will help get the word out to those who can benefit from the study.”

ART is one of the five sub-studies of the USF College of Nursing’s Research to Rehabilitate/Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families (RESTORE LIVES) grant funded and administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) at Fort Detrick, MD.

“All the pieces are coming together, with published results on ART effectiveness and our first national study site in Las Vegas. It looks like we are closer to getting a more efficient evidence-based treatment into place that will actually eliminate the traumatic response to memories and bring relief to the troops and their families,” said co- investigator Carrie Elk, PhD, LMHC, CTE, assistant professor and military liaison at the USF College of Nursing.

Article Citation:
Kip, K. E., Elk, C. A., Sullivan, K. L., Kadel, R., Lengacher, C. A., Long, C. J., Rosenzweig, L., Shuman, A., Hernandez, D. F., Street, J. D., Girling, S. A. & Diamond, D. M. (2012). Brief treatment of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Behavioral Sciences. 2(2), 115-134. doi:10.3390/bs2020115

–USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50^th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities.

-RESTORE LIVES at USF-

Through ‘RESTORE LIVES AT USF: Education and Research to Rehabilitate and Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families’, USF College of Nursing faculty develop life enhancing treatments through nursing research, and educate nurses with the knowledge and skills specific to the needs of the military, veterans and their families. The ART study is an example of type of innovative research that the USF College of Nursing is developing to improve the health of our honored service members and veterans.

Media contact:
Ashlea Hudak, College of Nursing Communications
ahudak@health.usf.edu or (813) 396-9642 

After an introduction by U.S. Special Operations Commander Adm. William McRaven, Dr. Elk helped kick off the conference, speaking on the topics of post traumatic stress (PTS) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as about USF College of Nursing research testing the effects of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) to treat emotional problems and related symptoms that arise from serving in combat operations.

Dr. Carrie Elk

ART is a revolutionary intervention being tested in one of the five sub-studies of the College’s Research to Rehabilitate/Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families grant funded by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.  Dr. Elk is co-principal investigator of the ART study.

An active duty senior special operations operator flew in to Tampa to speak about the treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder being studied at the USF  College of Nursing. He provided testimony that he had experienced sleep dysfunction from 10 years of combat, but that after only one session of ART in Dr. Elk’s private practice  he was able to sleep unmedicated, according to an article on TBO.com.

U.S. Special Operations Commander Adm. William McRaven said in an article on TBO.com, the Care Coalition is “my top priority … because at the end of the day, you can’t get anything done in this command unless you take care of the warriors and families… As we look at the pressure on the force, how do we preserve the force?” he asked. “Care Coalition is a key part of that.”

Through the Center for Education and Research to Rehabilitate and Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families or Restore Lives Center, USF College of Nursing faculty develop life enhancing treatments through nursing research, and educate nurses with the knowledge and skills specific to the needs of the military, veterans and their families. The ART study is an example of type of research that the USF College of Nursing is developing to help  honored service members and veterans.

Mr. Kevin McDonnell, Col. (ret) US Army, Director of the USSOCOM Care Coalition, visited the University of South Florida College of Nursing on Feb. 13, 2012 to discuss ways in which the College of Nursing could support the mission of the Care Coalition in serving military members. The primary focus of this conversation was on Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART).

L to R: Jay Redman, former special operator, Purple Heart recipient, and president and founder of Wounded Wear; Dr. Carrie Elk, assistant professor and USF College of Nursing military liaison; Admiral William McRaven, commander of USSOCOM; MSgt. Chris “Mack” MacKenzie, USSOCOM Purple Heart recipient and superintendent of Community Outreach Care Coalition

As Military Liason, Dr. Elk represents the USF College of Nursing in the military community locally, regionally and nationally, while encouraging potential education, service and research collaborations. She has been invited to conduct presentations for MacDill service members as an expert and researcher in treating in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Dr. Elk’s recent presentations have included James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital (June 1),  to 450  service members at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa (June 3), and  Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas (week of June 4).

USF has a long history of supporting the nation’s service members, veterans and their families with workforce issues, innovative educational programs and out-of-the-box nursing research conducted by leading  faculty. On November 13, 2012, the USF College of Nursing Restore Lives Center will host, JOINING FORCES TO RESTORE LIVES: Nursing Education and Research in Veterans Health, the first national conference where the top nurse educators and scientists will  focus on nursing education and research designed to meet the needs of veterans, service members and their families. This conference is part of USF’s commitment to support the Joining Forces campaign as a national nursing leader. 

Full story, McRaven pledges to help troops, families deal with stress, on TBO.com.

 Story by Ashlea Hudak, USF College of Nursing Communications

The Department of Defense grant may lead to better treatments, readjustment skills for veterans

Tampa, FL (Jan. 31, 2012) – The University of South Florida has received a $1.57 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to conduct translational research on traumatic brain injury and other battlefield related injuries and diseases. The studies, many in collaboration with James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, are intended to improve the quality of life for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is known as the signature injury of soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Blast forces sustained in combat often cause damage to parts of the brain critical to high-level functions influencing memory, attention, decision-making and motor skills. Many veterans developing symptoms after TBI also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

U.S. soldiers conduct combat patrol in Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.

“Working with the VA, the Department of Defense and private research entities, we will develop novel studies – everything from drug discovery and preclinical work to clinical, social and behavioral trials,” said principal investigator Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation and director of the USF Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. “Our multidisciplinary work will provide critical knowledge about TBI and its complications that could lead to more effective diagnosis and treatments for soldiers and veterans, as well as skills to improve their physical and psychological adjustment into civilian life.”

“This new federal award is a tremendous boost to USF’s efforts to build a research infrastructure to support our veterans reintegration strategy,” said Karen Holbrook, PhD, USF senior vice president for research, innovation and global affairs.

The two-year, DOD-funded grant joins faculty from across colleges and disciplines. Among USF faculty members leading studies are Cesar Borlongan, PhD; Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, and Michael Schoenberg, PhD; all from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; Theresa Chisolm, PhD, William Kearns, PhD, and Larry Schonfeld, PhD, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences; David Diamond, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences; William S. Quillen, PT, DPT, PhD, and Larry Mengelkoch, PhD; School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and Larry Braue, USF Office of Veterans Services.

Dr. Paul Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation, is overseeing the DOD-funded projects.

The grant involves four major projects:

• Researchers will assess in animal models how granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), a growth factor that mobilizes the body’s own stem cells, may help treat traumatic brain injury.

• A clinical trial will test whether GCSF reduces neurological damage and improves recovery of memory, decision-making and other cognitive functions in soldiers and veterans with TBI, even when administered a month or two after the initial injury. Patients will be recruited from the polytrauma rehabilitation and blast injury programs at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

• In an attempt to identify better diagnostic measures for mild TBI, a frequently underdiagnosed condition, a study will compare the balance, gait, hearing and vestibular functions of otherwise healthy USF student veterans with and without self-reported TBI to those of non-veteran students. Evaluations will be conducted at the USF School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences Human Functional Performance Laboratory.

• Using advanced technology researchers will monitor changes in patterns of everyday movement and the cognitive function of TBI patients undergoing smart house-based rehabilitation at the Tampa VA hospital’s Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program. The study will evaluate whether scientific analysis of movements, tracked by devices like radiofrequency identification and global positioning systems, can help assess therapeutic improvement. A second arm of the study will investigate whether variability in walking patterns is greater for USF student veterans reporting mild TBI than for those without this diagnosis.

The new DOD award adds momentum to USF’s plans to work with the VA and DOD to build a first-of-its kind Center for Rehabilitation, Science, Engineering and Medicine, an interdisciplinary research, education and treatment facility. Over the last three years, the university’s Veterans Reintegration Strategy program has joined researchers across colleges and disciplines to work on studies in areas including TBI, PTSD, robotics and prosthetics, gait and balance, and aging-related disorders.

“This award reflects USF’s collaborative efforts to leverage our research and academic expertise to enhance the quality of life of our men and women in uniform, and their families, who have so selflessly served this country,” said Lt. Gen. Martin Steele (USMC retired), executive director of USF Military Partnerships. “It builds, not only upon interdisciplinary research within the university, but also strengthens our longstanding ties with Tampa Bay’s military community through two major VA hospitals, MacDill Air Force Base, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.”

Earlier this month at a news conference announcing an initiative of the country’s top medical schools, including the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, to ensure care for veterans and their families, First Lady Michelle Obama recognized USF as an example of universities stepping up to meet veterans’ unique health care needs.

– USF –

The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the top tier of research universities, a distinction attained by only 2.2 percent of all universities. It is ranked 44th in total research expenditures and 34th in federal research expenditures for public universities by the National Science Foundation. The USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion, an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion, and serves 47,000 students in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland.