Unwinding the mind: re-positioning management of critical incident stress, post-traumatic stress and prolonged duress stress

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Robert Heath
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Mind

Reconsidering Post-Traumatic Stress

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dene S. Berman ◽  
Jennifer Davis-Berman
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Professional Mental Health ◽  
Stress Debriefing ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Outdoor Adventure Programs

This article serves to challenge the prevailing wisdom that suggests that most trauma is followed by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and is best treated with critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Instead, recent evidence suggests that many individuals exposed to stress do not experience stress responses. Even those who do, however, may not benefit from CISD. There is little support for outdoor adventure programs to require CISD after traumatic events. It is recommended that leaders be trained in assessment and trauma management with a special emphasis on case management and referral for participants who need professional mental health intervention.

scholarly journals Peer Support and Crisis-Focused Psychological Interventions Designed to Mitigate Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries among Public Safety and Frontline Healthcare Personnel: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7645
Author(s):  
Gregory S. Anderson ◽  
Paula M. Di Nota ◽  
Dianne Groll ◽  
R. Nicholas Carleton
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Psychological Interventions ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident Stress ◽  
Stress Injuries ◽  
Post Traumatic

Public safety personnel (PSP) and frontline healthcare professionals (FHP) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs), and report increased rates of post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSIs). Despite widespread implementation and repeated calls for research, effectiveness evidence for organizational post-exposure PTSI mitigation services remains lacking. The current systematic review synthesized and appraised recent (2008–December 2019) empirical research from 22 electronic databases following a population–intervention–comparison–outcome framework. Eligible studies investigated the effectiveness of organizational peer support and crisis-focused psychological interventions designed to mitigate PTSIs among PSP, FHP, and other PPTE-exposed workers. The review included 14 eligible studies (n = 18,849 participants) that were synthesized with qualitative narrative analyses. The absence of pre–post-evaluations and the use of inconsistent outcome measures precluded quantitative meta-analysis. Thematic services included diverse programming for critical incident stress debriefing, critical incident stress management, peer support, psychological first aid, and trauma risk management. Designs included randomized control trials, retrospective cohort studies, and cross-sectional studies. Outcome measures included PPTE impacts, absenteeism, substance use, suicide rates, psychiatric symptoms, risk assessments, stigma, and global assessments of functioning. Quality assessment indicated limited strength of evidence and failures to control for pre-existing PTSIs, which would significantly bias program effectiveness evaluations for reducing PTSIs post-PPTE.

Eye-Movement Desensitisation

1994 ◽  
Vol 164 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Vaughan ◽  
M. Wiese ◽  
R. Gold ◽  
N. Tarrier
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Mind

A novel approach is described for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye-movement desensitisation (EMD) requires the patient to generate images of the trauma in the mind and define physiological and emotional arousal states. While concentrating on these states, lateral multisaccardic eye movements are induced. Ten consecutive cases are reported who presented with symptoms originating from a range of traumas. The effectiveness of EMD in reducing symptoms outlined by DSM–III–R is described. An independent rater indicated that eight of the ten cases showed considerable improvement in PTSD symptoms following EMD, which was maintained at follow-up. Particular reference is given to the ‘specificity’ of EMD in treating symptoms and the changing pattern of effect at follow-up.

The Controversy over Pastoral Care of Parents after a Stillbirth

2007 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Susan Zengerle
Keyword(s):  
Pastoral Care ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
The Body ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing ◽  
Post Traumatic

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.

Too painful to think about: chemsex and trauma

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-48
Author(s):  
Stephen Morris
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Physical Medicine ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Mind ◽  
First Time

Purpose Whilst chemsex is a relatively new phenomenon, trauma is not. Freud borrowed the word from physical medicine, where it was used to describe tissue damage, and applied it, for the first time, as a metaphor to a psychological process by which the protective functioning of the mind can too be pierced and wounded by events. The chemsex environment hosts a myriad of potentially traumatising scenarios and experiences, though perhaps disguised as exhilaration or excitement. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a practitioner’s experience. Findings These experiences piled on top of childhood experiences of being “less than” for being gay, can be responsible for widespread undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among those who engage in chemsex. This paper explores this possibility and offers solutions. Originality/value Compounded trauma and PTSD symptoms amongst MSM who engage in chemsex has to date, not been researched.

scholarly journals Nightmares and the Cannabinoids

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 754-768
Author(s):  
Mortimer Mamelak
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Single Exposure ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Mind ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Inflammatory Changes

: The cannabinoids, Δ9 tetrahydrocannabinol and its analogue, nabilone, have been found to reliably attenuate the intensity and frequency of post-traumatic nightmares. This essay examines how a traumatic event is captured in the mind, after just a single exposure, and repeatedly replicated during the nights that follow. The adaptive neurophysiological, endocrine and inflammatory changes that are triggered by the trauma and that alter personality and behavior are surveyed. These adaptive changes, once established, can be difficult to reverse. But cannabinoids, uniquely, have been shown to interfere with all of these post-traumatic somatic adaptations. While cannabinoids can suppress nightmares and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, they are not a cure. There may be no cure. The cannabinoids may best be employed, alone, but more likely in conjunction with other agents, in the immediate aftermath of a trauma to mitigate or even abort the metabolic changes which are set in motion by the trauma and which may permanently alter the reactivity of the nervous system. Steps in this direction have already been taken.

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