June 21, 2011

PTSD Treated With A “Wave Of The Hand"?

According to a May 23, 2011, Tampa Tribune article by Howard Altman at Tampa Bay Online, the University of South Florida’s College of Nursing is studying a treatment that a Connecticut therapist discovered to fight post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The treatment is called “accelerated resolution therapy” and involves waving fingers in front of a patient in a way that resembles deep sleep. The article states that PTSD is “…suffered by one in five service members coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq and a contributing factor in suicides, homicides and drug addiction….” The study is funded by a $2.1 million U.S. Army grant, Altman reports. (Tampa Bay, Florida is the location of the U.S. Special Operations Command and Central Command.)