Study tests novel approach to PTSD treatment that helps individuals and spouses

Penn State
Nov 08, 2024

This news article by Penn State describes a STRONG STAR clinical trial led by Steffany Fredman to evaluate a novel therapy approach for PTSD and relationship issues for military and veteran couples. The trial is testing treatment delivered as part of a weekend retreat at a San Antonio hotel. Recruitment is open to couples nationwide who can travel to San Antonio for the retreat.

Read the article here

US Air Force veteran finds hope in suicide prevention therapy focusing on stress responses

KSAT-12 News
Oct 27, 2024

In this news story by KSAT-12, reporter Courtney Friedman sits down for conversations with U.S. Air Force veteran Nancy Dickinson and national suicide expert and STRONG STAR research collaborator Dr. Craig Bryan at the 9th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference. Dickinson, who shares how a non-combat role in medical operations nonetheless led to frequent combat-related exposures during deployment to Iraq, is happy to see treatment advances in military psychological health and encourages her peers to seek help as she did. Bryan discusses themes from his keynote address, including the need to adopt a paradigm shift in how we think about suicide risk and prevention. He also describes brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide and its efficacy in helping those who are at risk.

See the story on KSAT-12 News

Women veterans share triumphs and traumas at San Antonio’s 9th Annual PTSD Conference

Texas Public Radio
Oct 24, 2024

Texas Public Radio covered the 9th San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, presented by STRONG STAR and UT Health San Antonio, and took particular interest in the conference’s Women Veterans Panel, in which female veterans shared and reflected on their unique experiences and challenges as women in the military. The veterans panel has become a highly popular feature of the conference, as those in attendance appreciate the personal stories and perspectives of our warfighters.

Read more at Texas Public Radio

Army veteran shares harrowing PTSD journey

News 4 San Antonio/WOAI-TV
Oct 23, 2024

U.S. Army veteran Steve Moon shared about his journey from PTSD to recovery as part of this WOAI-TV/News 4 San Antonio story about the San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference presented Oct. 22-23, 2024, by the STRONG STAR Consortium and UT Health San Antonio. In this news story, Dr. Alan Peterson of UT Health San Antonio and director of STRONG STAR tells more about the conference and its focus on advancing military psychological health.

Watch the News 4 San Antonio story now

Research innovations on military combat PTSD to be presented at local gathering of national experts

San Antonio Express-News
Oct 20, 2024

The San Antonio Express-News offers an advance look at what will be featured at the San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference later this week.

Read the article here

San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference to attract hundreds with focus on improving military psychological health

UT Health San Antonio Newsroom
Oct 14, 2024

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a signature wound of post-9/11 wars, affecting hundreds of thousands of U.S. military service members and veterans. On Oct. 22-23, San Antonio will host an international gathering focused on the latest advances in treating PTSD and its commonly co-occurring conditions and how more of our warfighters can be led to recovery.

The Ninth Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, presented by the STRONG STAR Consortium and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), will be held downtown at the Briscoe Western Art Museum with a near-capacity crowd expected, of about 400 registrants.

As the only major scientific gathering of its type, the conference draws a worldwide audience of researchers, clinicians, leaders and policymakers in the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and others from academia and the private sector. Numerous military personnel, veterans and community members with an interest in military psychological health also join the proceedings, as do students and professional trainees.

Read the full news release here

2024 San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference opens registration, features compelling line-up

UT Health San Antonio Newsroom
Jul 19, 2024

Grab your seats now for the premier scientific conference on military psychological health. The STRONG STAR Consortium and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have opened registration for the 9th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, happening Oct. 22-23, 2024. The international gathering shares the state-of-the-science on the prevention and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions affecting military service members and veterans. Last year saw a sell-out crowd.

Read about the plans for this year’s conference and its compelling line-up in this UT Health San Antonio news story.

Read more at UT Health San Antonio Newsroom

Treatment of Comorbid Sleep Disorders and PTSD

Department of Defense - Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
May 14, 2024

This web highlight by the Defense Department’s Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs discusses the importance of a STRONG STAR Consortium to Alleviate PTSD study led by Daniel Taylor, PhD, on the treatment of co-occurring PTSD and sleep problems in active duty military. The DoD-funded study found that adding cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia and nightmares to an evidence-based PTSD treatment led to better outcomes with both conditions compared to PTSD treatment alone, no matter how the two therapies were ordered.

Read more at Department of Defense - Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Psychology alumna presents on importance of sleep

The University of Tulsa
May 01, 2024

STRONG STAR investigator Kristi Pruiksma, PhD, an expert on the treatment of sleep disorders, was invited by her alma mater to speak on the importance of sleep and to address how best to deal with a variety of sleep problems. This article by the University of Tulsa, tells more about her visit.

Read more at The University of Tulsa

$17 million goes to local researchers studying military PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, suicide

KSAT-12 News
Apr 30, 2024

Alan Peterson, PhD, psychiatry and behavioral sciences professor and director of the STRONG STAR national research consortium based at UT Health San Antonio, tells KSAT-12 TV about $17 million in new grant awards from the U.S. Department of Defense for eight research projects on PTSD, traumatic brain injury, suicide and other psychological conditions facing military personnel and veterans.

See the story on KSAT-12 News