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VIDEO: Providing treatment options important for PTSD

NEW YORK — Elspeth “Cam” Ritchie, MD, MPD, from Washington Hospital Center and Healio Psychiatry Peer Perspective Board member, discussed the importance of giving patients with PTSD a range of treatment options to see what works best for them, encouraging their involvement in treatment and building on therapeutic alliance here at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Ritchie talks about treatment for PTSD and depression in three “buckets.” The first is medication. The second is psychotherapy, which can be group or individual evidence-based, but those treatments are not for everyone. She cautions that for some people, retelling the story of their trauma is not always helpful.

Bucket number three is everything else, which includes complementary/alternative therapies like yoga, acupuncture and meditation, neuromodulation and working with therapy animals. She stresses the importance of exercise, which helps modulate the emotions of patients suffering from PTSD. New research that explores using ketamine for PTSD is beginning, bringing the potential for a new therapy.

Disclosures: Ritchie reports no relevant financial disclosures.