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Trauma, Violence & Abuse Jan 2024Trauma exposure places refugees at serious risk of developing mental health difficulties. However, research also recognizes that refugees can respond to trauma with... (Review)
Review
Trauma exposure places refugees at serious risk of developing mental health difficulties. However, research also recognizes that refugees can respond to trauma with psychological development and growth, commonly referred to as post-traumatic growth (PTG). An updated systematic review was conducted to investigate PTG across different refugee populations, including the processes that mediate this phenomenon, and the use of therapy in promoting PTG. A systematic search of CINAHL Complete, Proquest 5000, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed to identify studies exploring PTG in refugee populations, published between June 2013 and November 2021. In all, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Quantitative results reveal a positive correlation between PTG and religious commitment and coping, and the effectiveness of narrative and community-based interventions in facilitating PTG. Qualitative results facilitate insight into the complex ways refugees find meaning and strength after trauma through religion, comparison-based thinking, helping others, and storytelling. Findings highlight the need for future research and interventions to recognize the distinct PTG experiences of different refugee populations.
Topics: Humans; Posttraumatic Growth, Psychological; Refugees; Dreams; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Mental Health
PubMed: 37097092
DOI: 10.1177/15248380231163641 -
L'Encephale Oct 2023Nightmares can be defined as "an unpleasant dream with anxiety and oppression". They represent a symptom possibly leading to serious psychiatric and physical...
OBJECTIVES
Nightmares can be defined as "an unpleasant dream with anxiety and oppression". They represent a symptom possibly leading to serious psychiatric and physical consequences. It occurs to 2% to 8% of the general population. Lucid dreaming therapy (LDT) is an interesting upcoming psychotherapy for the treatment of nightmares. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of LDT in the treatment of nightmares in adults and children.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review of the literature, based on the Cochrane organisation's methodology. We explored the PubMed, Cochrane library, PsycINFO via Ovid and Embase databases and clinical trial registries (CTR), namely clinicaltrials.gov, EU clinical trials and the WHO clinical trials registry platform.
RESULTS
Four randomized controlled trials (RCT), 2 case series and 5 case reports were included. Most of the included studies found LDT effective in reducing nightmare frequency among adults with chronic and recurring nightmares. We did not identify any reports in children.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite a limited internal validity for the included studies, these first results are encouraging. Nonetheless, larger and more rigorous studies would allow to better assess the utility of LDT for nightmares.
Topics: Adult; Child; Humans; Dreams; Psychotherapy; Mental Disorders; Anxiety
PubMed: 37005191
DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2023.01.008 -
The American Journal of Hospice &... Jan 2024When conscious, about 50% to 60% of hospice patients report a "visitation" by someone who is not there while they dream or are awake: a phenomenon known as End-of-Life...
When conscious, about 50% to 60% of hospice patients report a "visitation" by someone who is not there while they dream or are awake: a phenomenon known as End-of-Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs). Since the dying process is frequently complicated by delirium, ELDVs risk being misidentified as such by professionals and caregivers. To observe these phenomena from patients' perspectives, we conducted a systematic review to aggregate and synthesize the findings from the qualitative studies about ELDVs of patients assisted in hospices to indicate future directions for research and care. MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched, yielding 293 documents after duplicates were removed. Six qualitative articles reporting on five unique studies conducted in hospice settings were included in the meta-synthesis. We generated three main categories: i) typologies of ELDVs reported, ii) emotional consequences, and iii) intersubjective meaning-making. The ELDVs reported were experiences that remained intimate and unsocialized and thus preventing participants from defining a shared sense in their relationships. Training healthcare professionals to recognize ELDVs and take advantage of them in the care relationship is desirable. We also encourage the patient's family members to listen and understand ELDVs when they occur actively. For caregivers to know how to interpret these phenomena may provide them with additional strategies for supporting, reassuring, and strengthening their relationships with their loved ones. The review allowed us to inform healthcare professionals and caregivers about how to help patients share their emotional and identity-related experiences and meaning-making in end-of-life.
Topics: Humans; Hospices; Hospice Care; Death; Qualitative Research; Family
PubMed: 36947427
DOI: 10.1177/10499091231163571