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  1. Home
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  3. Psychological Debriefing
  • Cited by 62
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
January 2010
Print publication year:
2000
Online ISBN:
9780511570148
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511570148
Subjects:
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Medicine, Psychiatry
Information

Book description

Debriefing has emerged as one of the most controversial interventions in clinical psychology and psychiatry. This book, published in 2000, constitutes a presentation and analysis of evidence for the efficacy, and otherwise, of psychological debriefing, in theory and application, and appraises current research findings on the proper use of such interventions. With authoritative editorial guidance, the reader is taken through the controversies surrounding debriefing of various kinds, in various settings, and at various levels of organisational supervision and control. Contributors include many of the leading international authorities in post-traumatic studies, drawing on their first-hand experiences as investigators and also witnesses, of traumatic events and their effects. From major disasters affecting large numbers or even whole communities, to individual experiences of road traffic accidents, assault or childbirth, the range of topics and points of view presented will make this an essential reference and guide for all practitioners - whatever their point of view.

Reviews

‘At times truly horrific reading but fortunately tempered by the general opinion throughout the book that there is always the ‘possibility of help, the recognition of hurt, the reality of hope’ … This book certainly provides a wealth of theories, descriptions and experience, and as such could offer support to those psychiatrists working closely and regularly with trauma victims.’

Source: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

‘Two recurring themes are welcome and reassuring. The first is the need to target interventions to those needing help … and the second is that debriefing should not be compulsory. This support is uniformly well written and offers some chapters to provoke, others to reference and one to bore. it has international appeal, covers a range of trauma and will be appreciated by many professionals, not just those with a special interest in psychological trauma.’

Source: British Journal of Psychiatry

‘The message of the book is the need to clarify, define, differentiate and test empirically. In a field which has not just great relevance but also a high profile, the book has done a valuable service by highlighting the key issues and going some way towards possible answers … Overall, however, this is a book that all those interested in stress and trauma will warmly welcome.’

Source: Sexual and Relationship Therapy

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Contents

Page 2 of 2

Contents
  • 23 - Is consensus about debriefing possible?
    pp 321-326
  • View abstract

    Summary

    This chapter attempts to attain consensus on some key questions in the field of debriefing, derived from a consensus conference held in 1996 in Australia. The Debriefing Consensus Forum brought together senior Australasian academics, practitioners and researchers to discuss traumatic stress debriefing. Providing debriefing to those who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic incident remains a controversial issue for mental health professionals. There was a consensus view that those conducting debriefing should be knowledgeable and skilled mental health professionals. Although debriefing may have effect on long-term psychological consequences of traumatic exposure, it may have an effect on short-term outcomes. Participants agreed that the promise of debriefing as a potential preventive intervention in mental health should not be abandoned, despite the limitations and inconsistency of the evidence supporting its effectiveness. The Forum highlighted the need for further research and suggested how future studies could make useful contributions to knowledge about debriefing.
  • 24 - Can debriefing work? Critical appraisal of theories of interventions and outcomes, with directions for future research
    pp 327-336
  • View abstract

    Summary

    This chapter draws together historical, social and psychotherapeutic strands as they contribute to the background of debriefing and its evolution. Its relation to military psychiatry, crisis intervention, narrative tradition, psychoeducation, grief counselling, group psychotherapy, behavioural and cognitive therapies, and psychopharmacology are touched upon and their implications for an eclectic model is considered. Acute preventive interventions can be implemented only if there is a broad acceptance of a notion of collective responsibility and the value of group survival of caring for such individuals. The essence of crisis intervention is that a clear precipitant exists and that the individual's distress is clear. If individuals with a normal biological stress response do not develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it raises questions of whether early and immediate interventions may modify the nature of the acute stress response in such a way as to increase the risk of PTSD.
  • 25 - A conceptual framework for mass trauma: implications for adaptation, intervention and debriefing
    pp 337-350
  • View abstract

    Summary

    This chapter focuses primarily on persons exposed to intentional human violence occurring on a mass scale, although, with modification, the principles outlined may be applicable to other trauma-affected populations. Concerns are raised that careers and livelihoods have been built on the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) industry, and that the priority of trauma debriefing and counselling has been oversold to aid agencies and other donor organizations. The five domains of stress and their adaptive systems are hypothetical constructs that are considered to subsume the functions of safety, attachment, identity and role, justice, and existential meaning. The model proposed aims to encourage a process of abstraction in which crude trauma events are organized according to their psychosocial meanings and their consequent impact on adaptation. The chapter discusses the implications that may arise for acute interventions linked to the adaptive domains.

Page 2 of 2

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