Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) can and does co-occur in both civilian and military populations. The evidence is now clear that TBI is a known risk factor for the development of PTSD in both populations. Given the lack of objective markers for mTBI and PTSD, as well as the overlapping symptoms, the disentanglement of PTSD and mTBI can be challenging. However, there are clear guidelines on how to approach treating the symptoms of each individually. While there is a paucity of research about how to treat these comorbid conditions in a comprehensive way, there are general guidelines that can be useful when treating this population, keeping in mind the use of clinical judgment and the individual needs of the patient being treated. This chapter serves to provide an overview of mild TBI and PTSD in military service member populations, outlines our current understanding of their interaction with one another, provides the current diagnostic criteria for both, outlines a high-level discussion of the interaction between mTBI and PTSD, highlights the empirical treatments for both disorders, and provides recommendations for future directions in understanding the interaction between mTBI and PTSD.
The identification of specific products or scientific instrumentation is considered an integral part of the scientific endeavor and does not constitute endorsement or implied endorsement on the part of the author, Department of Defense or any component agency. The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army/Navy/Air Force, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.
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Abbreviations
- AOC:
-
Alteration of consciousness
- ART:
-
Accelerated Response Therapy
- CAPS:
-
Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale
- CBT:
-
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- CPG:
-
Clinical Practice Guideline
- CPT:
-
Cognitive Processing Therapy
- DoD:
-
Department of Defense
- DoDI 6490.11:
-
Department of Defense INSTRUCTION 6490.11
- DVBIC:
-
Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center
- EMDR:
-
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
- GCS:
-
Glasgow Coma Scale
- GWOT:
-
Global War on Terror
- LOC:
-
Loss of Consciousness
- MACE:
-
Military Acute Concussion Exam
- mTBI:
-
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
- OEF:
-
Operation Enduring Freedom
- OFS:
-
Operation Freedom’s Sentinel
- OIF:
-
Operation Iraqi Freedom
- OIR:
-
Operation Inherent Resolve
- OND:
-
Operation New Dawn
- PCL:
-
Posttraumatic Disorder Checklist
- PE:
-
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
- PTA:
-
Posttraumatic amnesia
- PTSD:
-
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- SAC:
-
Sideline Assessment of Concussion
- TBI:
-
Traumatic Brain Injury
- VA/DoD:
-
Veterans Health Administration/Department of Defense
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Wolf, J., Mielke, J.B., Wolf, J.M. (2020). Mild TBI and Co-Occurring PTSD Symptoms in Service Member Populations. In: Tsao, J. (eds) Traumatic Brain Injury. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22436-3_13
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