Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety related mental health condition. It occurs after a person faces a traumatic event or situation. This traumatic experience might involve a threat on the patient’s own life, the patient witnessing other people being involved in a disaster or a loved one dealing with a situation that endangers their life. The patient starts reliving the traumatic event. This can occur in more than one form, such as, nightmares or vivid flashbacks. Patients become hypervigilant and start avoiding situations that reminds them with the traumatic event or triggers their flashbacks. It is not uncommon for patients suffering with PTSD to start experiencing anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, insomnia or start misusing alcohol and drugs.

It is estimated that around 10% of people would experience PTSD at a time in their lives.

There is a number of different treatment modalities that can help patients suffering with OPTSD:

• Psychological therapies, such as, Trauma focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) are two techniques widely used on the management of PTSD.
• Medicationsare not very effective in the treatment of PTSD but they are usually used in combination with psychological therapies. As they can address some of the symptoms associated with PTSD, thus give CBT or EMDR a better chance to work.
• TMS is new treatment modality for PTSD. Although, it is not yet recommended in any of the guidelines, some TMS treatment protocols showed very good results in clinical trails. Therefore, if other treatment options did not work for a specific patient TMS can be considered as a possible treatment option.

At London TMS Centre we are proud to have a group of expert psychiatrists in the treatment of PTSD. This ensures that when we recommend TMS for one of our patients this is done as a part of a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses different aspects of the patient’s difficulties. Our consultant psychiatrists have extensive experience in diagnosing and treating PTSD. This includes using different treatment modalities and working with colleagues from other disciplines, such as psychologists, to deliver a comprehensive and holistic management plan to their patients.