Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence or other threats on a person's life. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk of suicide and intentional self-harm.
A veteran is a person who has significant experience and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of 4.4 square miles (11 km2) in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded by Boston Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The community seceded from Roxbury as a part of the new town of West Roxbury in 1851, and became part of Boston when West Roxbury was annexed in 1874. In the 19th century, Jamaica Plain became one of the first streetcar suburbs in America and home to a significant portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale to the northeast, Hyde Park to the southeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the southwest. West Roxbury is often mistakenly confused with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from Roxbury by Jamaica Plain and Roslindale.
The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation in 1824. The current building is located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The school is a part of Boston Public Schools (BPS).
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in North America. The landscape was designed by Charles Sprague Sargent and Frederick Law Olmsted and is the second largest "link" in the Emerald Necklace. The Arnold Arboretum's collection of temperate trees, shrubs, and vines has a particular emphasis on the plants of the eastern United States and eastern Asia, where arboretum staff and colleagues are actively sourcing new material on plant collecting expeditions. The arboretum supports research in its landscape and in its Weld Hill Research Building.
Green Street is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Orange Line and is located in the southern part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Green Street is the least-used station on the Orange Line, averaging 3,055 weekday boardings in FY 2019. Like all Orange Line stations, it is fully accessible.
Boston's diverse neighborhoods serve as a political and cultural organizing mechanism. The City of Boston's Office of Neighborhood Services has designated 23 Neighborhoods in the city:
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder that can develop in response to prolonged, repeated experience of interpersonal trauma in a context in which the individual perceives little or no chance of escape. C-PTSD relates to the trauma model of mental disorders and is associated with chronic sexual, psychological, and physical abuse or neglect, or chronic intimate partner violence, victims of kidnapping and hostage situations, indentured servants, victims of slavery and human trafficking, sweatshop workers, prisoners of war, concentration camp survivors, residential school survivors, and prisoners kept in solitary confinement for a long period of time. It is most often directed at children and emotionally vulnerable adults, and whilst motivations behind such abuse vary, though mostly being predominantly malicious, it has also been shown that the motivations behind such abuse can be well-intentioned. Situations involving captivity/entrapment can lead to C-PTSD-like symptoms, which can include prolonged feelings of terror, worthlessness, helplessness, and deformation of one's identity and sense of self.
Forest Hills is a part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Forest Hills is characterized by hilly terrain and wooded areas within and adjacent to its borders. In general, the area slopes upward from Hyde Park Ave and downward from Walk Hill Street.
The Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world to formally educate female physicians. Originally known as the New England Female Medical College, it was subsequently renamed BUSM in 1873. It is also the first medical school in the United States to award an M.D. degree to an African-American woman, in 1864.
The Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy is an educational organization for psychiatrists, psychologists, other mental health professionals, and other healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat patients with mental health disorders. It is directly organized and managed by the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is owned by Mass General Brigham, the largest healthcare provider in Massachusetts.
Raymond Monsour Scurfield is an American professor emeritus of social work, The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast. He is in private practice with Rivers Psychotherapy Services in Gulfport MS; and he has been the external clinical consultant to the Biloxi VA Vet Center since 2011. He has been recognized for his expertise in war-related and natural disaster Psychological trauma. He has published books and articles exploring the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in both combat veterans and disaster survivors, including a trilogy of books about war’s impact. The trilogy’s third installment, War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned from Vietnam to Iraq, was published in October 2006. His three newest books are Scurfield, R.M. & Platoni, K.T. (Eds.). War Trauma & Its Wake. Expanding the Circle of Healing. New York & London: Routledge (2012); Scurfield, R.M. & Platoni, K.T. (Eds).Healing War Trauma. A Handbook of Creative Approaches. New York & London (2013); and Faith-Based and Secular Meditation: Everyday and Posttraumatic Applications. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press (2019)(see review on Amazon.com books).
The Boston Psychopathic Hospital, established at 74 Fenwood Road in 1912, was one of the first mental health hospitals in Massachusetts, United States. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. The name was changed to Massachusetts Mental Health Center in the late 1960s. The building at 74 Fenwood Road was closed in 2010 and demolished in 2011. The Massachusetts Mental Health Center continues to operate at 75 Fenwood Road.
Harold Goodglass was a prominent pioneer of neuropsychological tests and assessment, and spent much of his career investigating aphasia. The Boston VA Hospital, where he spent many years investigating brain function, now houses the Harold Goodglass Aphasia Research Center.
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies is a professional network established on March 2, 1985, in Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to disseminating the state of the science as it pertains to our understanding about the effects of trauma exposure, traumatic stress, evidence-based assessment of trauma and associated symptoms, and evidence-based prevention and treatment intervention approaches. The society provides a forum for sharing research, clinical strategies, public policy issues and theoretical formulations on trauma around the world. Members include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, counselors, researchers, administrators, advocates, journalists, clergy, and other professionals with an interest in the study and treatment of traumatic stress. Members come from a variety of clinical and non-clinical settings around the world, including public and private health facilities, private practice, universities, non-university research foundations, and many different cultural backgrounds.
Don Bosco Technical High School was a all-boys Roman Catholic secondary school for grades 9 through 12. Founded for immigrant boys by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious order of priests and brothers, the school was situated at 300 Tremont St. near the red light district, Boston, Massachusetts, United States from 1946 until its closure in 1998.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System is a health care organization that provides care to Massachusetts’ Veterans. It is part of the VA New England Healthcare System, one of 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) within the VA. The VA New England Healthcare System includes VA medical centers in Boston and all six New England states. The VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System includes a medical center in Northampton and community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in Greenfield, Worcester, Pittsfield, Springfield and Fitchburg.
The National Center for Telehealth & Technology (T2) is one of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), a part of the Military Health System (MHS). T2 was originally established to lead the integration of behavioural sciences with technology to provide solutions for psychological health and traumatic brain injury (TBI). T2 is a principal coordinator of United States Department of Defense (DoD) initiatives involving telehealth, online health tools, suicide surveillance and prevention, and information technology.
Rachel Yehuda is a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, the Vice Chair for Veterans Affairs in the Psychiatry Department, and the Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She also leads the PTSD clinical research program at the Neurochemistry and Neuroendocrinology laboratory at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center. In 2020 she became director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at Mount Sinai.
