PTSD and Moral Trauma
The Lviv Seminar Series was held at the Unbroken Center in Lviv, Ukraine, in November 2024.
It featured lectures by Dr. Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, Dr. Shelley Amen, and Dr. Noah Phillips — leading experts in the fields of PTSD, moral injury, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and emerging therapies.
Organized by Doctors United for Ukraine in collaboration with the Unbroken Center, Yale School of Medicine, and Brown University, the series provided clinicians with an in-depth review of approaches to assessing and treating psychological conditions stemming from war-related trauma, with particular focus on PTSD, moral injury, and substance use disorders.
Program Welcome
Presented by: Dr. Shelley Amen, M.D.
Audio & video by: Adam Kuhn
Synopsis: Dr. Shelley Amen introduces the lecture series and describes the sequence of content to be presented, acknowledges sponsors and supporters, introduces speakers and sets the agenda expectations
Lecture 1: Intro to TMS
Presented by: Dr. Noah Philip, M.D.
Audio & video by: Adam Kuhn
Synopsis: In this lecture Dr Philip introduces Transmagnetic Stimulation as a novel interventional modality in psychiatry's tool kit, describes its mechanisms based on principles from physics and neurobiology, oulines how this modality is utilized for the treatment of mental illness including depression and PTSD, and provides context on recent advancements and developments in TMS, highlighting findings from his own academic efforts.
Lecture 2: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Presented by: Dr. Noah Philip, M.D.
Audio dubs by: Taisiia Gusarova
Original lecture: link
Synopsis: Dr Noah Phillips describes the applications of TMS for treatment of PTSD based on historical and recent evidence in the scientific literature, including from findings in his own research at Brown University.
Lecture 3: PTSD Diagnosis and Neurobiology
Presented by: Dr. Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, Ph.D
Audio dubs by: Taisiia Gusarova
Original lecture: link
Synopsis: Dr. Ilan Harpaz-Rotem discusses the diagnosis and neurobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), focusing on how PTSD is identified and what is known about its underlying brain mechanisms.
Lecture 4: Moral Injury
Presented by: Dr. Shelley Amen, M.D.
Audio & video by: Adam Kuhn
Synopsis: In this lecture Dr Shelley Amen describes a working definition of moral injury in the context of war, discusses the similarities and differences between moral injury and PTSD, and outlines a model for treating moral injury in the clinical setting.
Lecture 5: Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Presented by: Dr. Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, Ph.D
Audio & video by: Adam Kuhn
Synopsis: Description: In this presentation Dr. Ilan Harpaz-Rotem explains the conceptual foundations of prolonged exposure therapy for treatment of PTSD and compared this modality to other psychotherapeutic approaches. The stages of preparing a patient for Prolonged Exposure Therapy are also described.
Lecture 6: Treating Moral Injury with Prolonged Exposure Therapy or EMDR
Presented by: Dr. Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, Ph.D
Audio dubs by: Taisiia Gusarova
Synopsis: Dr. Harpaz-Rotem outlines two powerful evidence based therapies utilized to treat PTSD, underlines the basic principles behind each modality and describes the evidence to support its use in the treatment setting.