Posttraumatic Stress Intervention: Challenges, Issues and Perspectives

Since the 1980s, posttraumatic stress intervention has focused primarily on “psychological debriefings” to help prevent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While debriefing is said to be important, mental health professionals are uncertain about outcomes, and there is agreement that debriefing may be somewhat hindered by its pathogenic nature rather than being a positive method for preventing trauma stress. This book demonstrates the need for alternatives to the prevailing model of posttrauma prevention, providing the theoretically and ecologically sound intervention that facilitates recovery and growth in those who have faced adversity. By concentrating on alternative ways of thinking about patterns of interaction between people and adversity, the adoption of a salutogenic paradigm for conceptualizing, researching designing, and delivering effective trauma intervention is advocated. This paradigm offers opportunities for intervention to mitigate traumatic stress reactions, develop resilience, and to establish necessary individual and organizational resources. In addition, the following topics are also examined: the integration of traumatic experiences, brief prevention programs after trauma, the effects of traumatic disclosure on physical and mental health, the values of writing and talking about upsetting events, hardiness as a resiliency factor, and work-related traumatic stress. This book will be useful for disaster workers, emergency worker counselors, police counselors, mental health professionals, and any group or individual that works with people exposed to trauma. The ideas described herein will add to the repertoire of those who seek to help others.