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Theoretical and Empirical Issues in the Treatment of PTSD in Vietnam Veterans

  • Chapter
Psychotraumatology

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Stress and Coping ((SSSO))

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Abstract

Controlled group studies on the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological approaches to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam combat veterans have not yet appeared in the literature. However, numerous articles in recent years have provided theoretical rationales and descriptive summaries of various treatment approaches, primarily based upon psychodynamic (Horowitz, 1973, 1974; Horowitz & Kaltreider, 1980), behavioral (Keane, Fairbank, Caddell, Zimering, & Bender, 1985; Keane, Zimering, & Caddell, 1985), and psychobiological (van der Kolk, Greenberg, Boyd, & Krystal, 1985) models for conceptualizing the treatment of combat-related PTSD. The present chapter will review these theoretical approaches and the treatment techniques that have evolved from each. In addition, this review will examine some of the current trends in PTSD treatment research and speculate on the future direction of research on treatment of combat-related PTSD in Vietnam veterans.

The authors wish to thank Sandra E. Gramling for her helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Reprinted from Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 43, pp. 44–55. Copyright 1987 Clinical Psychology Publishing CO., Inc.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Triangle Institute, Research Park, North Carolina, 27709, USA

    John A. Fairbank

  2. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, 39216, USA

    Robert A. Nicholson

Authors
  1. John A. Fairbank
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  2. Robert A. Nicholson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, 21242, Ellicott City, Maryland, USA

    George S. Everly Jr.

  2. Union Memorial Hospital, 21218, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    George S. Everly Jr.

  3. Department of Psychology, Loyola College, 21210, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    George S. Everly Jr.

  4. Division of Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, Union Memorial Hospital, 21218, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Jeffrey M. Lating

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Fairbank, J.A., Nicholson, R.A. (1995). Theoretical and Empirical Issues in the Treatment of PTSD in Vietnam Veterans. In: Everly, G.S., Lating, J.M. (eds) Psychotraumatology. The Springer Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1034-9_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1034-9_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-44783-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1034-9

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