Promoting resilience after trauma clinical stimulation of the oxytocin system

Traumatic experiences that threaten a person’s life or physical integrity and evoke a response of fear, helplessness, or horror are a common phenomenon. In the Netherlands, approximately 80% of people experience a potentially traumatic event at least once during their lives. Of these, approximately 10% develop psychological symptoms that meet the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (de Vries & Olff, 2009). PTSD is characterized by symptoms of re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoiding reminders of the event, hyperarousal, and emotional deficits such as emotional numbing (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Present evidence-based early interventions for PTSD treat this condition after symptoms have developed (Veterans Health Administration, Department of Defense [VA/DoD], 2010). A practice that would apply therapeutic intervention at an earlier stage in order to prevent the onset or the aggravation of PTSD symptoms would be greatly desirable. At the present time some early interventions appear to be effective (e.g., Zohar, Sonnino, Juven-Wetzler, & Cohen, 2009). However, these have not been tested sufficiently to meet evidence-based criteria.