Emotional or educational debriefing after psychological trauma
- 1 August 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Royal College of Psychiatrists in The British Journal of Psychiatry
- Vol. 189 (2), 150-155
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.105.021121
Abstract
Background: Recent studies show that individual single-session psychological debriefing does not prevent and can even aggravate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Aims: We studied the effect of emotional ventilation debriefing and educational debriefingv.no debriefing on symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression.Method: We randomised 236 adult survivors of a recent traumatic event to either emotional ventilation debriefing, educational debriefing or no debriefing (control) and followed up at 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 6 months.Results: Psychiatric symptoms decreased in all three groups over time, without significant differences between the groups in symptoms of PTSD (P=0.33). Participants in the emotional debriefing group with high baseline hyperarousal score had significantly more PTSD symptoms at 6 weeks than control participants (P=0.005).Conclusions: Our study did not provide evidence for the usefulness of individual psychological debriefing in reducing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression after psychological trauma.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- All Symptoms Are Not Created Equal: The Prominent Role of Hyperarousal in the Natural Course of Posttraumatic Psychological Distress.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2004
- Early cognitive–behavioural therapy for post-traumatic stress symptoms after physical injuryThe British Journal of Psychiatry, 2004
- Treating Acute Stress Disorder Following Mild Traumatic Brain InjuryAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2003
- Single session debriefing after psychological trauma: a meta-analysisThe Lancet, 2002
- Briefing and debriefing: group psychological interventions in acute stressor situationsPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2000
- Debriefing: its role in the spectrum of prevention and acute management of psychological traumaPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2000
- Treatment of acute stress disorder: A comparison of cognitive-behavioral therapy and supportive counseling.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1998
- A validation study of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in different groups of Dutch subjectsPsychological Medicine, 1997
- Testing the integrity of a psychotherapy protocol: Assessment of adherence and competence.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1993
- The Hospital Anxiety and Depression ScaleActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1983