The Controversy over Pastoral Care of Parents after a Stillbirth

Author(s):  
F. Susan Zengerle

Studies published in the last few years have suggested that the current practice in hospital obstetric units of encouraging parents to spend time with, hold, and even care for their stillborn fetus or baby may be deleterious to them. Rather than helping to allay grieving and successfully bring mourning to closure, mothers who had increasing levels of contact with the body of their stillborn baby were incrementally more likely to suffer depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in their next pregnancy and to have difficulty with attachment to their next child. These findings parallel observations from meta-analyses that question the efficacy of single-session debriefing (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) after psychological trauma in preventing the later emergence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Although not conclusive, these initial studies support the urgent need for further research to allow evidence-based pastoral care for those whose pregnancies end in stillbirth and loss. Given this much uncertainty about the risks posed by contact with her stillborn baby, mothers who do not chose to see their dead infants should not be persuaded to do so on the grounds of beneficence.

Author(s):  
Tiffany A. Beks ◽  
Sharon L. Cairns ◽  
Anusha Kassan ◽  
Kelly D. Schwartz

This article considers three perspectives that have figured prominently in the conceptualization of psychological trauma related to military service in the Canadian context—that of military institutions, that of military members, and that of counselling psychologists. A closer examination of these views reveals points of contention regarding the origins, terminology, and cultural relevance of conceptualizations of service-related trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder By drawing from theoretical, empirical, critical, and anecdotal literature, this article highlights the need for counselling psychologists to continually evolve their understanding of the broader contexts in which service-related trauma occurs and to honour military members’ knowledge of diverse sources of traumatic suffering.


Author(s):  
O. Tokhtamysh

This topic is particularly relevant in the context of combat operations in eastern Ukraine against the occupation of the country, where members of the combined forces operation in each day are in a situation threatening the life and risk of getting a military psychological trauma. The article considers the elements and conditions of post-traumatic growth in the context of the rehabilitation process and the social promotion of human development after a traumatic event. The phenomenon of post-traumatic growth can transform the concept of rehabilitation into a term that can be labeled as "proabilitation". The forms of social and rehabilitation support in terms of creating conditions for post-traumatic growth and their effectiveness are explored. The theoretical and applied models with resource elements of the rehabilitation process and post-traumatic growth process are analyzed. It is noted that the traditional model of posttraumatic growth pay attention to the process of rumination and getting control over it and ignores one of the basic symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder, such as uncontrolled visual images (flash backs). The two-component concept of post-traumatic growth, which may be «illusory» or «adaptive», can also be presented as a «compensatory» or «healing» type with regard to the presence or absence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms after reaching post-traumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth occurs in several domains and can be depending on the type of traumatic event experienced, the individual reactions and the psychological qualities of the person. This process is not such that it automatically eliminates the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, the same, rejecting the need for psychotherapeutic and psychosocial care and focusing only on post-traumatic growth can be a false strategy for those who have experienced a traumatic event. Consequently, the phenomenon of post-traumatic growth can be regarded as a powerful resource factor for the rehabilitation process, in particular, as a motivational component of psychosocial assistance.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
A. Tatay Manteiga ◽  
L. Laguna Sopena ◽  
M. Lloret Diez-Canseco ◽  
T. Merino Magán ◽  
S. Cepeda Díez ◽  
...  

Aims:Since the end of 19th century, mental health professionals have noticed that individuals who have experienced traumatic situations often present dissociative symptoms, such as amnesia or fugue states. Dissociation is a defensive mechanism that allows an individual to separate from conscience the psychological distress produced by the trauma. Our aim was to remark the association between Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and long-term dissociative disorders through the study of a clinical case.Method:A clinical case was followed and reviewed to illustrate this relationship.Results:Ten years ago, a 49-year-old man was diagnosed of PTSD after having witnessed several colleagues burnt in a tragic accident at work and having helped the emergency fire brigade to rescue other victims. His symptoms required treatment with antidepressants and psychotherapy, and fully remitted after one year. Nevertheless, during the last year, he has presented two dissociative amnesia episodes lasting for three days each, which were examined by a neurology service. More recently, he has suffered a ten-day episode of dissociative fugue, which required psychiatric hospitalization. Although the patient has been asymptomatic during a decade, it is remarkable that he has presented three dissociative episodes in a short period of time. One of them, the fugue state, is interesting because of its long duration and its relatively low prevalence in the general population.Conclusions:This clinical case allows us to appreciate the long-term relationships between psychological trauma and dissociation, in addition to the well-known short-term effects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 729-736
Author(s):  
Konstantin N. Stupin ◽  
Mikhail Y. Zenko ◽  
Elena A. Rybnikova

Abstract Comparative analysis of available literature data on the pathogenetic neuroendocrine mechanisms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is provided in this review to identify their common features and differences. We discuss the multidirectional modifications of the activity of cortical and subcortical structures of the brain, levels of neurotransmitters and their receptors, and functions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in depression and PTSD. The analysis shows that these disorders are examples of opposite failures in the system of adaptive stress response of the body to stressful psychotraumatic events. On this basis, it is concluded that the currently widespread use of similar approaches to treat these disorders is not justified, despite the significant similarity of their anxiety-depressive symptoms; development of differential therapeutic strategies is required.


Author(s):  
Jan Grimell

This article continues to build on the biblical combat veteran types (BCVTs) which were recently presented as a tool to describe and understand biblical combat veterans through the lenses of post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury. The purpose of this article is to connect the BCVTs with real-life cases so as to show the potential usefulness of the biblical types. This article further develops a model for pastoral care which integrates this tool.


Author(s):  
Syed Roshaan Ahmed ◽  
Syed Uzair Mahmood ◽  
Haema Waheed

The Syria Civil War, which started in 2011, has killed 400,000 people. It has forced more than 11 million people to suffer and has caused not only the people to migrate but also to be displaced within their own country. The war has brought only misery in the lives of Syrians as the damage has only focused on residents of the region in combat. The children have faced the worst, losing their parents, siblings or even friends to violence, suffering physical and psychological trauma. Out of the 11 million and more people who have suffered, 4.9 million Syrians are refugees and 6.1 million have displaced within Syria, out of which half of those affected are children.The end result of the continued Syria Civil War is that those who have managed to survive have been severely damaged both physically and psychologically, disturbing their interpersonal, psychosocial, physical and mental health. The incidence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increases in such a situation, which tends to affect the lives of the Syrian people permanently.


Author(s):  
Richard Biehl

In this chapter, the author talks about his teaching of somatic yoga for relief of trauma, supporting this with current research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and including parts of his own story with PTSD. He has been practicing yoga since 1992 and expands his bodily pursuits through an active intellectual life. Here he offers an in-depth discussion based on research and his personal experience of the role of body consciousness in trauma and traumatic illnesses. He explores various ways to develop conscious embodiment in focused, restorative, and ultimately safe ways through engagement of the wisdom of the natural body and thereby to recover and potentially heal from traumatic stress and illness. In conclusion, he emphasizes that simple somatic methods anchored on breath and movement with mindfulness make it possible to heal traumatic illness and can provide immediate relief to experiences of both acute and chronic distress.


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