A 2026 randomized youth trial found that integrated exposure-based treatment reduced posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms more than supportive counseling, while substance-use changes were smaller and showed no clear treatment-specific advantage. Research Highlights COPE-A reduced PTSD more: youth receiving Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure – Adolescent version had a 17.00-point …
Violence exposure was nearly universal by age 8 in a South African birth cohort: 91.1% of children had experienced at least 1 violence type, and 53.6% had experienced more than 1. Recent violence exposure at age 8 was consistently tied to mental-health problems, while earlier exposure at age 4.5 showed weaker longitudinal prediction than same-age …
A 2026 functional magnetic resonance imaging study involving 54 adults found that pairing a formerly threatening cue with positive images, a laboratory method called counterconditioning, strengthened later neural safety-memory signals in people with posttraumatic stress disorder. The experiment measured fear-learning biology, not PTSD symptom improvement after therapy.1 Research Highlights 54 adults were analyzed: Cooper et …
Cannabis users often say the drug helps them blunt stressful memories. A 2026 randomized trial of 36 healthy adults tested low-dose oral THC against placebo during retrieval of a standardized lab stressor, and on every subjective and physiological measure that mattered, THC did nothing.1 Research Highlights 36-adult, 3-arm RCT: participants got placebo, 5 mg oral …
A 2026 randomized comparison study of 152 Rwandan genocide survivors and released perpetrators found that 3-day Community Resiliency Model training improved social cohesion, compassion, forgiveness, and resilience over time, with social cohesion F(1) = 36.1, compassion F(1) = 131, forgiveness F(1) = 19.8, and resilience F(1) = 8.10.1 Mixed survivor-perpetrator groups improved slightly more, but …
A pilot randomized trial involving 71 refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder found large symptom improvement after narrative exposure therapy-based care, but adding refugee-adapted emotion-regulation training before narrative exposure therapy did not outperform supportive problem-solving before narrative exposure therapy in the full sample.1 Research Highlights 71 refugees were randomized: 35 received STAIR-R plus narrative exposure therapy, …
Major upper-extremity amputation was linked to substantially higher odds of new mental-health diagnosis, antidepressant initiation, and psychotherapy claims than minor upper-extremity amputation in a matched national database study. The clearest clinical implication is early mental-health screening after major limb loss, not waiting for distress to surface months later.1 Research Highlights 2,452 matched patients were analyzed: …