Do complementary and integrative medicine modalities contribute to reduction in PTSD symptoms?

Advancement is occurring in the search for effective, evidence-based treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). One innovative program—the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program (Reset)—at Fort Hood is showing promise for reducing the symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression through its integrative approach combining traditional individual and group therapy with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments (e.g. Acupuncture, Reiki, Massage, Reflexology, Yoga). Since much of treatment-oriented CAM is aimed at chronic pain and mood disorders (Barnes, et al. 2008), and because most CAM use is for health promotion (Davis, et al. 2011a), patient-reported outcomes are likely somewhat better measures of the ‘real world' clinical goals of CAM therapies than are randomized clinical trials. A mixed-methods program evaluation examined current treatment and practice of CAM for PTSD in conjunction with traditional therapies. Almost 700 soldiers have attended the 3-week program and participated in more than 20,000 individual CAM sessions. The objectives of the evaluation were to: 1) Analyze outcomes of retrospective patient data and 2) Collect qualitative data from stakeholders including patients, family members, providers, and hospital leaders to identify mechanisms accounting for success or failure of the program. It was also of interest to evaluate health impact of CAM sessions and to explore data using structural equation modeling and other methods to determine which patients benefitted the most from treatment. Preliminary results indicate significant reductions in PTSD, pain, anxiety, and depression from pre- to post- treatment and suggest that CAM sessions may have an impact on traditional treatment effectiveness, patient adherence, loss to follow up, and number of required sessions.