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5.4 - Occupational Stress and Traumatic Stress

from Part V - Civil Proceedings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2021

By
Paula Brough ,
Amanda Biggs ,
Briana Brandon  and
Victoria Follette
Edited by
Jennifer M. Brown  and
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Jennifer M. Brown
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Affiliation:
University of Suffolk
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Summary

This chapter reviews the evidence, theories, and treatments for both occupational and traumatic stress commonly experienced by criminal justice service workers (i.e., police, corrections workers, etc). Due to the nature and structure of their work, criminal justice service workers are at a high-risk of experiencing occupational stress and/or traumatic stress, and this chapter reviews the effective treatment options to counter these stress experiences. The chapter identifies the key causes (antecedents) of both occupational and traumatic stress for criminal justice service workers, and the symptoms and consequences these experiences commonly produce. We also discuss the key theoretical explanations of these stress experiences, and issues such as vicarious trauma, moral injury and chronic stress reactions. The final section in this chapter discusses common interventions and treatments to manage these stress experiences, including: Employee Assistance Programs, Critical Incident Stress Management, peer support, psychological first-aid, the first responder toolkit, and acceptance and commitment therapy.

Keywords

StressTraumaPoliceCorrectionsPTSD
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology , pp. 697 - 715
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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