Post traumatic stress and debriefing in the emergency services.

The following theseis is divided into three separate parts. Part one is a review of the current post traumatic stress literature. The review outlines the development of the study of post-traumatic stress from early wartime observations to the current focus on the effects of disaster on both victims and emergency personnel. A number of theoretical conceptualisations are offered to describe how a proportion of those exposed to catastrophic events subsequently develop a variety of disabling conditions. Implications for treatment are discussed, emphasising the need for preventative and proactive interventions. Finally, an alternative adaptive model of PTSD is described in the context for future recommendations. Part two of the thesis describes a study to explore the factors associated with psychological distress in emergency workers following involvement in critical incidents and to determine the efficacy of psychological debriefing in the alleviation of such distress. The study demonstrates that workers initially experience some distress as a response to their work, but that this is typically short lived. Important factors in predicting distress are poor social support, knowing the incident victim and if the incident occurred over both

Name dc:type.qualificationname

D.Clin.Psy

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Sheffield

Year dc:date.issued

1994

Author dc:creator

• Hutt, Matt

Identifier

uk.bl.ethos.484165

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:1881