Today's Science Times in The New York Times features a couple of stories I particularly liked.
One, by Benedict Carey,...
Category: ptsd
Today's Science Times in The New York Times features a couple of stories I particularly liked.
One, by Benedict Carey, reports on new research showing that the drug Ecstasy, or MDMA, when used in combination with psychotherapy, sharply reduced post-traumatic stress in 15 of 21 people. The subjects, who had severe symptoms in the early 2000s, have "virtually no symptoms" today, Carey writes. Experts cautioned that the work is preliminary, he is careful to note.
The researchers stay with the patients for as long as the Ecstasy-altered state continues, perhaps for 8 to 10 hours, they tell Carey. I wonder how much that kind of treatment might cost (a psychiatrist at $300/hr times 10 hours for each session?), and whether, with that...
Here's a little appetizer that suggests an opportunity for a far more comprehensive story: Morgen Peck at Scientific American asks whether criminal trials provide any sense of relief or resolution for survivors of mass shootings. She talks to several authorities who...
Here's a little appetizer that suggests an opportunity for a far more comprehensive story: Morgen Peck at Scientific American asks whether criminal trials provide any sense of relief or resolution for survivors of mass shootings. She talks to several authorities who say, yes, sometimes the legal process helps.
Peck also reports that "there are many reasons to think that survivors whose assailant dies on the scene will recover faster from the psychological wounds." In other words, immediate, street justice might be better for survivors than a protracted trial.
As I say, there is much more to be explored here. But Peck has given us an interesting first taste.
-Paul Raeburn
©2010 Knight Science Journalism at MIT. All Rights Reserved.