If you were to have a traumatised client, which type of therapy would you choose to treat them? On what would you base your decision? While the therapy-types on offer to treat PTSD abound, three different types of psychotherapeutic approaches come up again and again in the literature as workable and appropriate for trauma. These are: cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement de-sensitisati... »
If you had to endure a traumatic event – say, dangerous flooding, an out-of-control bushfire, or being caught up in terrorism – would you want to talk about your experiences later? Would you believe that it would help you to heal from them if you did? Early models for treating trauma asked clients to do this, insisting that the cure was in the retelling. Just around the millennium, however, resear... »
In recently published articles we defined and looked at the aetiology of trauma and discussed the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for ASD and PTSD. In this article we shift our focus to the neurobiological side of things i.e. what happens to the brain during the course of trauma. »
In a previous article, we explored the definition of trauma, and reviewed the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for two trauma-related mental health disorders: acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The answer to how many people in a given population have AST or PTSD is not straightforward, as it should be considered in the context of how many potentially traumatic events (P... »
What is “trauma”? The word seems to be used inconsistently in the mental health field, sometimes referring to an adverse event and sometimes describing the psychological injury sustained from experiencing such an event. “Trauma” comes from the Greek word for “wound, hurt, or defeat”; before 1700 it was used to mean a physical injury, the sense in which many medical practitioners today use the word... »
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, or DBT, was developed in 1993 by U.S. psychologist Marsha Linehan for use specifically with clients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), who cope with distressing emotions and situations by using self-destructive behaviours such as suicide and self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Linehan’s assessment of the therapies available to BPD cli... »
Child sexual abuse (CSA) has received increasing recognition as an important social issue over the past couple of decades (Webster, 2001). While reports of CSA are certainly increasing, it is unclear as to whether this is due to an actual increase in occurrence, or merely a greater awareness in the community and reporting to the authorities. The uncertainty surrounding reporting is not unique in t... »
Child abuse is a phenomenon that is a universal and societal taboo. As reflected in numerous legislative acts and philosophy central to all child protection is that the welfare of the child is paramount. Whilst having regard for the view that the best place for a child to thrive is with his/her family, any allegation of abuse must be responded to by referral to the appropriate authority. »
Rose has come to counselling to help relieve her fears about driving. About 15 years ago, she had an accident while driving and has not driven a car since. She has recently applied for a job, and she will need to use a car to get there. She feels motivated to learn to drive again, however every time she even thinks about driving she experiences mild anxiety attacks. The Counsellor has decided to u... »
Wilma is a 36-year-old married mother of 4 children. Wilma has been divorced previously and was subjected to psychological and physical abuse by her former partner. Much of the abuse issues had been resolved previously in counselling 12 months earlier. Wilma gave permission for C to contact her former counsellor to obtain relevant information on her earlier difficulties. »
Marna attended counselling to try to do “something” with her memories of child abuse that currently seem to be affecting her life. She attended twelve appointments over a six-month period. In this scenario, the professional counsellor uses an eclectic approach incorporating Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Abuse Literature Approaches. For ease of writing, the Profess... »
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