ABSTRACT
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents a growing problem for therapists and caregivers. The incidence of unpredictable violence in the present age provides a continuing source of trauma as its promulgation by the media magnifies its effects. The increasing role of first responders also increases the trauma load of the many who aid and care for primary victims. The prevalence of PTSD among veterans of the Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom has been estimated at nearly twice the rate of the non-combat population (six percent). The incidence among Gulf War veterans lies at 10-11 percent and for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at 13-17 percent (Gradus, 2010; Hogue et al. 2004). These returning servicemen present serious problems for treatment professionals on two fronts. First, they represent a significant influx of problem patients for whom there are few trained staff, and second, the currently approved and most thoroughly researched treatments for PTSD provide inconsistent results with varying levels of effectiveness and subsequent relapse. Central to the second problem is the observation that extinction-based treatments, which have enjoyed a favorable position among the existing treatment options, often require long-term commitment in spite of their inconsistent results (Foa and Meadows, 1997; Foa et al., 2000; McNally, 2007; Massad and Hulsey, 2006; Rothbaum et al., 2000; Rothbaum and Davis, 2003; Shalev et al., 1996; Wessa and Flor, 2007; Schiller et al., 2010; Ursano et al., 2004). This chapter will focus on one of the primary NLP interventions used to treat PTSD symptoms, the Visual Kinesthetic Dissociation protocol (V/KD). It is supported by a neurological mechanism that explains its efficacy and provides directions for further research. PTSD is defined by the DSM-IV in terms of four criteria. The first of the criteria is the traumatizing event. In order to qualify as a traumatizing event both of the following must appear:
1 The person experienced, witnessed, or was otherwise confronted with one or more events that actually involved or threatened death, serious
injury, or some other threat to the physical integrity of that individual or others.
