USF Nursing’s published study results on PTSD therapy are subject of article in 83 Degrees Media

83 Degrees Media recently wrote an article about University of South Florida College of Nursing’s Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) study results on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The 83 Degrees’ feature reporter, Kimberly Patterson, wrote the article on August 7, 2012.

Patterson talked about USF College of Nursing’s recent study, which showed that accelerated resolution therapy (ART) reduces symptoms of PTSD such as depression and anxiety.

“As principal investigator of this award, I wanted to have a track record and early evaluation of accelerated resolution therapy prior to studying it in veterans exposed to combat-related trauma,” the article quotes Kevin Kip, PhD, FAHA, Professor and Executive Director for Research Center at USF College of Nursing. “We are writing several grants to continue the study of accelerated resolution therapy. This includes seeking several hundred veterans to examine which characteristics predict the best treatment response, and aiming to conduct mechanistic studies as to how eye movements used in accelerated resolution therapy affect the brain, as well as what neurological changes occur with use of the voluntary image replacement technique.”

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 findings of this first study of ART appear in an on-line article published June 18, 2012 in the journal Behavioral Sciences.

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 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.

To read full story please visit 83degreesmedia.com at “USF Study Shows Promising Treatment for PTSD.”

-RESTORE LIVES –

Through ‘RESTORE LIVES: 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 Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) 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.