News Preventing/helping Ptsd In The Ct. School Shootings

[Martin Taylor]

Does anyone know of any actions being taken to minimize PTSD impact on the survivors, first responders, teachers, etc of the recent shooting at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut? I know that there is currently a lot of help available right now but what happens in three to four months when the symptoms star to show up? By then CNN will have moved on and resources will have begun to shrink. Considering that this group is totally comprised of people suffering from PTSD, it only makes sense to think that there may be something we can do to help. Anyone know of anything going on that we can help with?

 

[anthony]

Considering that this group is totally comprised of people suffering from PTSD, it only makes sense to think that there may be something we can do to help.

Actually, this is incorrect. PTSD is not post-traumatic stress, being a normal reaction to such an event. PTSD is vastly different, and beyond initial reactions to such events. Further, historical evidence has shown such intervention only complicates and makes matters worse. The best outcomes for healing and reducing the potential for any survivors to 'develop' PTSD in the future, is to let them heal naturally, together as a collective group with others who understand and are enduring the same feelings and experience as those around them.

That is the new and improved methodology to treating post trauma such as an event of this magnitude. It is proven the most effective, with the least longevity issues arising. Normal grieving must be allowed to take place, without people putting leading thoughts within survivors minds about longevity 'possible' effects.

There was a big lessen learnt after 9/11 in this regard.

 

[AS1975]

Seconded, there are treatments that are designed to help people suffering post-traumatic stress, in this instance one would hope they are being instigated to the full. There are, very unfortunately, quite a number of people who've been in similar situations, who will understand precisely where these poor unfortunates are, and can discuss with them what happened, what they did, or didn't do, what they realistically could have done to prevent it, in short, get past the whole "what if" bullshit before it develops into a chronic problem. Then again, seeing 20 small kids with multiple gunshot trauma, probably not something people, particularly the adults involved, are going to successfully get past anytime soon.

 

[Martin Taylor]

I must not have been clear. I am not talking about any form of intervention right now. That would be both impractical and ill advised for the reasons you state above. Stress after the trauma is normal and expected and I pray the survivors work through it in a healthy way. I'm willing to bet, unfortunately, that some of them may not. Those people will need help; but by then the public sympathy will have moved on the next event. Very few will care anymore. Public funds, even with Obamacare, may not be available to those that need it. So I am simply asking if anyone is aware of an effort to provide support when, and in the event, some of these survivors need help.

 

[ClairBear226]

I think Martin posed a good question. If I'm understanding correctly, the question is, what is the current wisdom for treating those that have a "fresh" trauma? As those that suffer from PTSD, we know how awful this is, and would not wish it on anyone, particularly a child. Does anyone know what measures are taken to help them process the trauma in a healthy way and minimize the long term impact? Is there any way that fellow survivors of trauma can help?

 

[anthony]

The processes currently in place by most agencies around the world are exactly those stated above. Local agencies directly manage the affected, they get them together into local gatherings, they have meet and greet nights with others affected, and so forth. They actively engage that protocol to do exactly that... to put the affected together so they can rationalise and process the trauma, to hear it from others who are living it and are processing it better than maybe themselves.

That is the key protocol with trauma victims now. It has been shown to provide the highest results for success, and the lowest for ongoing psychological issues and development of mental health problems. It truly does work... it is literally like this forum, being that it puts like experienced people together directly helping one another, as one has a strength were the other has that weakness, and vice versa.

The moment you introduce mental health professionals is the same moment you lead trauma victims into a direction they never truly thought about, or wanted to go... but psychologically more do after intervention by mental health experts than without. The natural recovery rate is higher than any trauma therapy around today. Intervention by mental health professionals is the last line of defence, when basically all else has failed.

It is no longer considered the first line of defence... nor is medication. The above approach has been enacted not longer after 9/11, and has proven time and time again since as the best. 9/11 had too much professional intervention, and thus it also had one of the highest instances of mental health outcome problems, when the number should have been much lower. The reason for the heightened numbers was because every mental health professional around drove to NY thinking they would provide help to the sufferers, when in fact they caused more issues than they fixed.

Psychology is a double edged sword... and its not the first intervention strategy for trauma treatment as some may make you believe. You can find this out by basically asking any local help agency that caters local trauma and helps support and manage the survivors / affected after the event. There are actual protocols from the World Health Organisation and other agencies about the first line of defence for traumatic instances.

In the case of the shooting, you are seeing this being put into action. Families are being grouped to mourn together. They're being assisted with funerals to bury the dead and to grieve collectively. As such, they all talk, support and assist one another to move on with life.

Whilst the media may move onto the next story, the local community doesn't... and the above protocols continue at a local level. Media attention and outside intervention are distractions to the event, not solutions.

 

[Abstract]

Anthony,

Jut wondered if you have a link to any research on what works best after trauma to prevent PTSD. I would be interested to read more.

It seems there is a half way point that is best? I have read before that not discussing it all and having no support makes one vulnerable. And it seems you are saying that too much does too.

 

[chw52]

As for emergency services, most departments offer CISD for all the responders. In this case, i would say attendance will be required.

I am a retired Captain from a municipal fire department.

 

[anthony]

Jut wondered if you have a link to any research on what works best after trauma to prevent PTSD. I would be interested to read more.

Have a read of: http://www.info-trauma.org/flash/media-e/mitchellCriticalIncidentStressDebriefing.pdf and take note of the stages in CISD... being more focused at the responders versus survivors, however; CISD also happens at the survivor level.

You can read about critical incident stress management (CISM), which is something similar except that it focuses on discussing the traumatic events, and you will note a lot of follow-up issues that specifically cite more harm than good typically comes from this type of after incident intervention. The wikipedia references good source documents for a cross-examination of it.

This one is the piece of resistance... WHO actually have quite a good name for this method, being Psychological First Aid (PFA) and you can read about it directly from their document: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241548205_eng.pdf

You will notice on the introduction how it explicitly outlines that people at the local level, not mental health based, but actual people involved with the trauma, then run groups, discussions, events to help build the group of survivors / those affected so they can talk, communicate, grieve and heal together. The document cites the evidence of this type of approach versus professional psychological intervention.

You can Google any of the above names to find more. CISD is focused at the emergency services, CISM is a failed experiment counter to WHO recommendations, and PFA has been in practice after 9/11 and slowly developing to become what the WHO has now endorsed, documented and released above.

This approach has the best success for healing. For the then minority who it doesn't work for, that is when that minority need professional support. Treatment should always be tailored to help the majority, then specific further follow-up and treatment approaches are tailored to treat the minorities.

To put it absolutely as simple as I could for all readers, Post Traumatic Stress is a majority, and CSID & PFA are designed to treat it and provide a majority healing. The minority who continue to struggle, or who develop PTSD, then shift off to specialist treatment (psychological intervention), and those minorities within the minority (alcohol abuse, dissociation, drug abuse, et cetera) then have tailored treatment programs to deal with their outcomes specifically.

 

[Abstract]

WHO actually have quite a good name for this method, being Psychological First Aid (PFA) and you can read about it directly from their document: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241548205_eng.pdf

Thank you. I shall read when I can concentrate.

 

[ClairBear226]

Thanks, Anthony. Interesting stuff. It's good to know there is a structure in place to address trauma, before it can snowball. Though I can't say I'm easily upset by what I see in the news with mass casualty incidents, it will often cross my mind that it's only a matter of time before some of the survivors develop PTSD. I'd like to be wrong about that. No one deserves this crap. It's nice to see there is a proactive approach being taken to prevent it, and that that approach is being monitored and tweaked so that subsequent survivors have the benefit of the knowledge gleaned from those before them.

 

[anthony]

I don't think there isn't much nowadays that has some standard available... anyone who works and complies with OH&S, is working from a pretty global standard. Health is as much a standard field as safety nowadays.