Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma Events
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma Events
Trauma can encompass a wide range of concerns or events that can be specific to an individual.
Trauma may consist of:
- Any trauma or event specific to the individual, which may or may not lead to a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Examples may include:
o Physical and sexual assault or abuse
o Abuse (including childhood or domestic abuse)
o Response to a traumatic event(s) – e.g., serious car accidents, work-related exposure to trauma, including remote exposure, response to war or conflict, torture, response to a serious medical problem or treatment, first responders
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder involves exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury and sexual violence, either through directly experiencing the event or having witnessed it occurring to others. It may involve single or repeated exposure to the event or details of the traumatic event (American Psychiatric Association, 2022; NICE Guideline for PTSD, 2018).
What therapy may involve:
- An in-depth intake assessment and clinical interview to understand the trauma(s), including its origin, function and responding thoughts and behaviours, risk assessment and diagnosis (if necessary)
- Commencing trauma-focused treatment
- Collaboration with other clinicians involved in your care (e.g., General Practitioner, Psychiatrist)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (TF-CBT):
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (or TF-CBT) is a Level 1 evidence-based psychological treatment which is effective to treat trauma (NICE Guideline for PTSD, 2018; Seidler & Wagner, 2006), which specifically targets the trauma cognitions (thoughts) and behaviours from the trauma event.
It may include:
- Interventions
o Cognitive re-structuring
o Self-soothing strategies
o Arousal control strategies
o Behavioural activation
o Meaningful and pleasant activities
- Imaginal Exposure – Re-telling of the trauma event in therapy and assessing the distress associated with the event using Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) rating.
- In Vivo Exposure – Co-development of graded exposure hierarchy with your therapist to address your trauma concerns, also including assessment of the distress associated with the event using SUDS rating
- Homework Tasks – May include listening to the imaginal exposure session if recorded in therapy, as well as tasks implementing in vivo exposure exercises
Suggestions:
- Consult your General Practitioner (GP) to discuss your trauma concerns
- Consider a referral to a Psychologist with experience in trauma, trauma treatment and PTSD
- You may be eligible for support through the following:
o Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP)
o Workcover (work related issue)
o Transport Accident Commission (TAC)
o Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT)
o Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
Article written by Jocelyn Clarke, Psychologist
Support Services
Phoenix Australia – Finding Mental Health Support - Trauma
https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/find-help/
References
American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC: USA.
NICE guideline (2018). Post-traumatic stress disorder. Retrieved from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng116/chapter/Recommendations#management-of-ptsd-in-children-young-people-and-adults
Seidler, G. H. & Wagner, F. E. (2006). Comparing the efficacy of EMDR and trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of PTSD: a meta-analytic study, Psychological Medicine, 36, 1515-1522, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291706007963