HELPING TO HEAL TRAUMA.
PTSD TREATMENT PALM BEACH GARDENS

Trauma can come in many different shapes and sizes, and sometimes it may be hard to identify. Here at Allay we provide a relaxing environment that allows you to work through your trauma.

Because many PTSD sufferers do not respond to treatment using antidepressants, other treatment options are needed. If successful, this study will provide valuable data on the potential of ketamine to help antidepressant-resistant PTSD patients. Combat veterans can’t always leave behind what they saw and experienced on the battlefield when they return to the civilian world.

While some ease back into their old lives with minimal problems, many suffer from post-traumatic-stress syndrome so severe that they need professional help to overcome both this condition and the depression that often accompanies it.

“Some researchers have called the new infusion therapy one of the most important discoveries in half a century.” says Aimee Cabo Nikolov, administrator of the Ketamine Medical Clinic in Miami, a division of the Neurosciences Medical Clinic. Here at Allay, we want you to take back control and live a productive life. We understand that PTSD can be debilitating and cause a number of other issues. We would like to help put the pieces of your life back together.

PTSD & Veterans therapy in Palm Beach County: The Promise of Permanent Trauma Resolution 

PTSD is a chronic and disabling condition arising after exposure to a traumatic event characterized by persistent re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyper-arousal symptoms. 

“Thus far, this condition has been under-treated through half-measures based upon the medical establishments’ good intentions. As with all half measures, good intentions notwithstanding…they avail our patients nothing!”

-Roland Verfaillie, PH.D.

In recognition of the need for a high quality treatment, we offer a 20% discount to all veterans and first responders.

The United States’ war-footing has left boot prints across the globe.  As the United States wraps up the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, other theaters of combat are opening up elsewhere in the world. Military involvement carries with it the risk, if not the certainty, of injured troops.  Already the casualties are staggering.

What the statistics says

1 in 5 returning veterans suffer from PTSD, and according to a 2008 Rand study the number of PTSD sufferers lacking treatment could be as high as 1 in 3. That’s  440,000-770,000 service people with PTSD. Short of presenting the demographic populations affected, suffice it to say that there exists an army of walking-wounded among us.

The shame is that the US military has better trained and equipped soldiers to fight than to return to civilian life. The VA and the civilian mental health community is woefully under-staffed and under-trained to be able to provide needed mental health and re-entry services.

PTSD and comorbid illnesses, such as depression and anxiety become more resistant to treatment as time goes on. This is because traumatic experiences become etched indelibly in the neural pathways linking memory and emotion. Talk therapy falls short in making a lasting difference. At best, symptoms are deferred until some event triggers a cascade of PTSD symptoms.

Our trusted doctors that provide PTSD treatment in Palm Beach Gardens understand the nature and seriousness of the condition as we have years of experience in dealing with patients with PTSD.

What history says

Historically, PTSD and related stress disorders have not yielded to conventional treatments. There is a virtual cornucopia of approaches to “treating” PTSD, comprising pharmacological, cognitive behavioral therapy and a slew of novel treatment interventions.

Mental health professionals invariably default to “best treatment practices” which ironically don’t work best to resolve trauma.  Some years ago the VA pounced on EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) and established it as the gold standard for PTSD treatment in the VA facilities.

Although effective for general anxiety, for PTSD it is like applying a band aide to a punctured tire on a muscle car traveling 90 miles an hour down the highway. The military establishments newest flirtation is with SGB (Stellate Ganglion  Blocks). The procedure involves injecting a local anesthetic into a cluster of nerves deep in the neck called the stellate ganglion.

The VA is currently studying how SGB works.  However, the risks connected with this procedure have been down-played and can be quite serious. While both treatments have worked for some combat veterans, convincing research is lacking and success stories are anecdotal.

Why choose Ketamine Assisted Therapy for PTSD? 

Allay Health and Wellness is administering low-dose infusions of ketamine with assisted psychotherapy. Why chose Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAT) with Allay Health & Wellness? Because valid research studies have demonstrated long-term and possibly permanent relief from the symptoms associated with complex Trauma and treatment/medication resistant depression.

As noted on our page about ketamine infusion therapy, we subscribe to dual treatment modalities, which encompass both pharmacology and psychotherapy. Wisdom and out-come studies have shown that neither modality alone is powerful enough to stand alone. There is a positive and powerful synergistic effect when simultaneously provided.

We are following protocol replicating Mount Sinai’s Clinical Research Unit’s outcomes using Ketamine for PTSD subjects. This study provides the first evidence for rapid reduction in  symptom severity following ketamine infusion in patients with chronic PTSD.

The data derived from this study provided the first randomized, controlled evidence that NMDA receptor modulation (Ketamine’s mechanism of action) can lead to rapid clinical reduction of core PTSD symptoms. The research design incorporated patient rating scales measuring depression and anxiety both throughout and after the study.

PTSD treatment in Palm Beach County is following the same protocols as the Mount Sinai Research Center. We are also currently gathering patient treatment response data (depression/anxiety/pain/PTSD scores) and contributing our findings to the American Psychological Association for further validation.

No longer should such a necessary and immediate treatment need be left to the current hit-and-miss methods. Quicker, get-to-the-heart-of-the-problem methods, which can be proven to work and continue working is what we aim to achieve.

WHY VETERANS THERAPY IN PALM BEACH GARDENS?

Because Allay Health and Wellness is providing the most modern, state of the art treatment for veteran’s and others suffering from chronic PTSD, treatment resistant depression, pain and anxiety.

Prevalence of PTSD in Veterans

Estimates of PTSD prevalence rates among returning service members vary widely across wars and eras. In one major study of 60,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, 13.5% of deployed and non-deployed veterans screened positive for PTSD, while other studies show the rate to be as high as 20% to 30%. As many as 500,000 U.S. troops who served in these wars over the past 13 years have been diagnosed with PTSD.

It is not clear if PTSD is more common in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans than in those of previous conflicts. But, the current wars present a unique set of circumstances that contribute heavily to mental health problems.

According to Paula P. Schnurr, PhD, Executive Director of the VA National Center for PTSD, the urban-style warfare tactics in Afghanistan and Iraq may trigger more post-traumatic stress in surviving military members than conventional fighting. These are marked by guerrilla attacks, roadside improvised explosive devices, and the uncertain distinction between safe zones and battle zones.

In addition, Dr. Schnurr notes, improvements in protective gear and battlefield medicine have greatly increased survivability – but at a high price. “Between the way we’re protecting the troops and responding to injuries on the ground, a lot of soldiers are surviving with very significant injuries who would not necessarily have survived before. […] And they’re returning stateside with both the physical and psychological trauma.” she says.

Selected Treatments for PTSD in Veterans

First-Line Second-Line Alternative Pathways
Nonpharmacological
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy 
    • Cognitive processing therapy
    • Prolonged exposure therapy
  • Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing
Pharmacological
  • Antidepressants 
    • Sertraline*
    • Paroxetine*
    • Fluoxetine
    • Venlafaxine
  • Nefazodone
  • Mirtazapine
  • Tricyclic antidepressants (e.g., imipramine)
  • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (e.g., phenelzine)
  • Prazosin
  • Gamma-aminobutyric acid
  • Glutamate
  • Vortioxetine
  • Vilazodone
  • Anticonvulsants (e.g., topiramate)
  • Antiepileptics
  • Cannabis

For example, studies have shown combined SSRIs and psychotherapy appear to be more effective than treatment with either intervention used alone.

Treatment-Resistant PTSD

For patients with PTSD who do not respond to initial drug treatment, it may be necessary to explore additional pharmacotherapy options to control their symptoms. A number of pharmacological agents, including antipsychotics, antiadrenergic drugs, and anxiolytics, have also demonstrated some efficacy in treating PTSD.

However, for most pharmacological therapies, there is inadequate evidence regarding efficacy for PTSD, pointing to the need for more clinical studies in this area. According to Dr. Schnurr, psychotherapy remains the most effective treatment for PTSD. “Antidepressants may be effective,” she says, “but we see more results—and we also see more durable results—with the psychotherapies because they essentially go to the heart of helping the patient address the problem.

(Source: PTSD Treatment for Veterans: What’s Working, What’s New, and What’s Next)

Learn more about Veterans Therapy in Palm Beach County

Trauma can come in many different shapes and sizes and sometimes it may be hard to identify. Here at Allay Health and Wellness, we provide a relaxing environment that allows you to work through your trauma.

We offer a 20% discount to all veterans and first responders.

Aside from PTSD treatment in Palm Beach County, we also offer treatments for depressionburnout, and anxiety. For more information, Contact Us or call us at (561)421-6444.

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

“I am better off healed than I ever was unbroken.”

— BETH MOORE

READY TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY?