The Health and Wellness Lecture Series offers monthly lectures on topics related to health issues, personal well being, and disability prevention and management.

We thank and acknowledge the co-sponsorship of the UC San Diego Medical Center, the Vice Chancellor - External and Business Affairs, the School of Medicine, as well as the Community Advocates for Disability Rights and Education (CADRE), which is an association of faculty, staff, and students that promotes full inclusion and equal opportunity for people with disabilities.

UC San Diego Accommodation Counseling and Consulting Services is pleased to announce September's educational event. This will be a presentation by Steven Thorp, Ph.D., who is an Assistant Professor from the Department of Psychiatry at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and is the Program Director of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Clinical Team (PCT) at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Dr. Thorp is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in assessments and empirically supported psychotherapies for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Dr. Thorp conducts research and clinical work with military veterans who have experienced psychological trauma.

Topic: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Time: 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.

Location: The Geisel Library, The Seuss Room

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) is more prevalent than you may think as it affects more than 7 million Americans.

Post-traumatic stress disorder can be seen as an overwhelming of the body's normal psychological defenses against stress. Thus, after the trauma, there is abnormal function (dysfunction) of the normal defense systems, which results in certain symptoms.

PTSD is best known among war veterans, but it can occur with many types of psychological trauma such as child abuse, mugging, rape, automobile accidents, plane crashes, earthquakes, and bombings. Symptoms of PTSD include irritability, emotional withdrawal, reduced interest in activities, aggressiveness, avoidant behavior, nightmares, and flashbacks.

Come and take the first step to better understand the effective ways to manage PTSD. In this presentation, Steven Thorp, Ph.D., will talk about the latest research and his clinical work on PTSD diagnostic criteria, symptoms, comorbid disorders, gender and age issues and treatment options.

Current research projects for Dr. Thorp and his team at the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Clinical Team (PCT) at the VA San Diego Healthcare System include a VA Career Development Award to compare prolonged exposure therapy to relaxation training for older veterans who have PTSD. Dr Thorp was also awarded two grants (from the Department of Defense and the VA) to explore the use of teleconferencing technologies for conducting psychotherapy for veterans with PTSD. He is currently working with colleagues to examine data for a new treatment (Imagery Rehearsal Therapy) for ameliorating nightmares in veterans. Call Heather Sones at (619) 680-1755 or email Dr. Thorp via: steven.thorp@va.gov should you be interested to see if you would qualify as a possible participant in one of his clinical trials.

Please join us for what promises to be a very informative presentation. This event's seating capacity will fill up fast and we will be able to confirm reservations for only a limited number of people. Light refreshments will be served. There will be a prize drawing at 12:00 noon.

To reserve a seat, please register online at:
http://qwl.ucsd.edu/acces_forums/index_acces.cfm

Call (858) 534-6744 for general information. Events are wheelchair accessible. To request American Sign Language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations necessary to enable your participation, please call (858) 534-6744 or send an e-mail request to Alane Reardon at areardon@ucsd.edu as soon as possible to ensure adequate time to arrange for accommodation.

You may view The Health and Wellness Lecture Series calendar and links to streaming videos at: http://haw.ucsd.edu