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Memory reconsolidation therapy for police officers with post-traumatic stress disorder
Citation
Kerswell, NL and Strodl, E and Hawkins, D and Johnson, LR, Memory reconsolidation therapy for police officers with post-traumatic stress disorder, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36 pp. 112-123. ISSN 0882-0783 (2020) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 Society for Police and Criminal Psychology
DOI: doi:10.1007/s11896-020-09363-5
Abstract
Police officers are frequently exposed to traumatic events and therefore are at elevated risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) and other mental health conditions. While evidence-based treatments for PTSD such as prolonged exposure therapy demonstrate effectiveness, residual symptoms and relapse remain problematic outcomes. Improvements in outcomes may be enhanced by
modifying psychotherapy processes based upon recent neuroscientific findings. The present study explored incorporating memory
reconsolidation principles into evidence-based exposure therapy for PTSD to create memory reconsolidation therapy (MRT). MRT
incorporates memory recall followed by a wait period to make memories liable for modification. Using a case series design, three police
officers diagnosed with PTSD participated in a maximum of twelve 90-min sessions of MRT and recorded weekly self-report measures
of trauma symptoms and psychological distress. Results indicated participants experienced significantly reduced psychological distress
with gains maintained over a 3-month follow-up. A significant reliable reduction in trauma symptoms by post-therapy was identified in
two of the three cases with the third narrowly missing the clinically significant cut-off. These significant changes were maintained over
the 3-month follow-up in one participant, while the maintenance of these improvements in trauma symptoms approached significance
in the other two participants. These findings provide preliminary evidence to justify larger future studies to test the efficacy of MRTwith
police officers experiencing PTSD.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | memory reconsolidation, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, police, psychological distress |
| Research Division: | Psychology |
| Research Group: | Clinical and health psychology |
| Research Field: | Health psychology |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in psychology |
| UTAS Author: | Johnson, LR (Associate Professor Luke Johnson) |
| ID Code: | 140100 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Deposited By: | Psychology |
| Deposited On: | 2020-07-27 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-03-04 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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