Improving the lives of PTSD sufferers around the world
Candice Monson is researching ways to further improve therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder patients, including involving families in the therapy process.
Providing access to the most cutting-edge therapy is psychology professor Candice Monson’s mission for helping individuals, including war veterans, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Through support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and other international grants, she is currently working on translating the results of years of research into programs to train clinicians and provide support for PTSD patients around the world.
She and her colleagues’ methods are now the frontline of recommended treatments internationally, including in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. “There are a lot of reasons why people don’t want to, or can’t come in for, face-to-face therapy: stigma, financial resources, family demands, psycho-social demands, geography, and more,” said Candice. “But it doesn’t matter if I build something that works if no one does it. So I’m keen to capitalize on technology to bridge that gap and get these treatments to people who are suffering.”
When she started researching these kinds of treatments, PTSD was “managed” rather than treated. “It was a chronic, pernicious life sentence. The best we could do was relieve suffering and offer palliative care,” said Candice. “These days, I am really passionate about getting these treatments to the individuals that need them.”
Candice’s treatment takes the individuals back to the memories of their traumatic events to consider how they make sense of them. In doing so, they can examine the event and correct any issues that are stopping them from healing. The therapies can be uncomfortable and involve “opening the wound and cleaning it out so it will heal,” but it’s a short-term discomfort for those who can go on to live without the disorder once their treatment is complete. Her research is showing that individuals who partake in her protocol of trauma-based cognitive behaviour therapy can expect a recovery rate of 75 per cent.
Yet there is still the pressing issue of getting these treatments to PTSD patients who are unable to attend face-to-face sessions. As such, Candice’s work also includes the creation of internet-delivered therapy where individuals will have access to a coach who will help them work through the modules from the comfort of their own home. “Our goal is the make the treatments as quick and effective as possible,” she said. “The truth is that we will never have enough clinicians to deliver the treatment to those who are suffering.”
Additionally, Candice has included several partners in her research. “Due to the interpersonal nature of trauma and the symptoms that result from it, PTSD is very interpersonal,” she said. “And having a supportive network is a top indicator for successful recovery.”
Currently, she is working on a project funded by CIHR to test different ways to deliver the treatments and determine which ways are most effective, including intensive couples' therapies and the inclusion of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine to increase the empathy of participants.