The first three episodes of the series were released last year and explored the relationship between trauma and mental health. In the first episode, Professor Meaghan O’Donnell, Head of Research at Phoenix Australia, joined host Professor Mark Creamer to explore traumatic events and the development of posttraumatic mental health problems in the context of neurobiological, psychological, social and cultural mechanisms.
This year, three new episodes explore PTSD treatment and recovery, including the benefits of trauma-focussed therapies, the ongoing debate surrounding the efficacy of pharmacological, emerging, and alternative treatment options, as well as hearing from individuals with lived experience.
In the episode Treating Trauma: Pharmacological and Emerging Treatments, Professor Meaghan O’Donnell and Professor Neil Greenberg from the UK join Professor Mark Creamer to explore the role that pharmacological and emerging alternative treatments have as second line treatments for PTSD and related conditions. They examine the evidence and efficacy of medications such as SSRIs and anti-psychotics; the research around emerging evidence-based second-line options, including MDMA, mindfulness, yoga and meditation; and the ways these options affect the efficacy of trauma-focussed psychological treatments.