Olfaction is one thing that distinguishes 麻豆原创鈥檚 Trauma Management Therapy (TMT) Program from other post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment programs.
Dr. Deborah Beidel, director of the 麻豆原创 Anxiety Disorders Clinic, uses olfactory stimulants such as 鈥淢oroccan marketplace,鈥� 鈥渂ody odor鈥� and 鈥渨eapon fire鈥� to stimulate the same part of the brain (the limbic system) that handles memories and emotions.
鈥淥n our diagnostic scale, the average score before treatment was 80, which indicates severe PTSD,鈥� says Beidel. 鈥淎fter treatment, the average dropped to 40. That鈥檚 going from 鈥業鈥檓 having nightmares every night鈥� to 鈥業 have a nightmare once a month.鈥欌��
Beidel and her team use stimulants to replicate traumatic events experienced by PTSD sufferers. Visual, audio and tactile components are also used, but according to Beidel鈥檚 patients, smell acts as the most powerful trigger.
鈥淭he point is not to make people comfortable with these events, but to decrease the emotion that has gone along with them,鈥� says Beidel. 鈥淪o someone stops being afraid to drive under an overpass because it triggers a reaction related to a bridge attack they lived through in Iraq.鈥� John, a soldier who is halfway through treatment, says, 鈥淚 think the program will give me insight and tools to deal with my anxieties. I鈥檝e just gotten to the point where I can sit in a restaurant without having to face the door.鈥�
While TMT was designed as a 17-week program, the U.S. Army recently granted an additional $1.5 million to 麻豆原创 to develop a three week intensive program for active-duty soldiers. The grant鈥檚 coverage includes patient lodging, which enables soldiers from across the country to participate.
The researchers plan to accept a total of 180 soldiers for treatment, and are now taking applications. For more information, visit anxietyclinic.cos.ucf.edu.