ABOUT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES (CHLA),

KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

We create hope and build healthier futures. As a leader in pediatric academic medicine, we fulfill our mission by:

  • Caring for children, teens, young adults, and families
  • Making discoveries and advances that enhance health and save lives
  • Training those who will be the future of health
  • Supporting our communities, especially underserved populations

HOW WE HELPED

The standard treatment for PTSD is exposure therapy, the direct confrontation of traumatic memories. Exposure therapy for combat-induced PTSD is highly aversive as confronting traumatic memories is extremely distressing. Thus, most traumatized veterans drop out of treatment or avoid it entirely. CHLA has developed a novel treatment called Very Brief Exposure that reduces fear symptoms and physiological arousal without causing patients any emotional distress. A patient is repeatedly exposed to their traumatic situation by rapidly flashing a series of images (e.g., combat scene with arousing visuals) very briefly – so briefly, in fact, that the images bypass conscious awareness. These rapid micro-exposures have been repeatedly shown to reduce the severity of fear and arousal symptoms in highly phobic patients by desensitizing the brain’s fear circuitry. CHLA will use VBE to treat U.S. combat veterans with PTSD, paving the way for a large-scale, federally funded, clinical trial. Infinite Hero Foundation is proud to be supporting this critical and innovative work with a grant for $100,000.

The Funding

$100,000

2022