Brief trauma therapy for occupational trauma-related PTSD/CPTSD in UK police
Observational cohort study providing brief trauma-focused therapy for PTSD (CBT/EMDR) to UK police officers.
Article Abstract
“Background: Police are frequently exposed to occupational trauma, making them vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions. Through personal and occupational trauma police are also at risk of developing Complex PTSD (CPTSD), associated with prolonged and repetitive trauma. Police Occupational Health Services require effective interventions to treat officers experiencing mental health conditions, including CPTSD. However, there is a lack of guidance for the treatment of occupational trauma.
Aims: To explore differences in demographics and trauma exposure between police with CPTSD and PTSD and compare the effectiveness of brief trauma-focused therapy between these diagnostic groups.
Methods: Observational cohort study using clinical data from the Trauma Support Service, providing brief trauma-focused therapy for PTSD (cognitive behavioural therapy/eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) to UK police officers. Demographics, trauma exposure, baseline symptom severity and treatment effectiveness were compared between police with PTSD and CPTSD. Changes in PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms were used to measure treatment effectiveness,
Results: Brief trauma therapy reduced symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety. Treatment effectiveness did not differ between CPTSD and PTSD groups. Police with CPTSD exposed to both primary and secondary occupational trauma had poorer treatment outcomes than those exposed to a single occupational trauma type.
Conclusions: Brief trauma-focused interventions are potentially effective in reducing symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety in police with CPTSD and PTSD. Further research is needed to establish whether additional CPTSD symptoms (affect dysregulation, self-perception and relational difficulties) are also reduced.”
—Description from publisher
Article Access
Open Access
Biggs, C., Tehrani, N., & Billings, J. (2021). Brief trauma therapy for occupational trauma-related PTSD/CPTSD in UK police. Occupational Medicine, 71(4-5), 180-188. Open access: https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqab075
Date
June 1, 2021
Creator(s)
C. Biggs, N. Tehrani, J. Billings
Topics
Complex Trauma/C-PTSD, PTSD
Client Population
First Responders/Healthcare Workers
Extent
9 pages
Publisher
Oxford Academic
Rights
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
APA Citation
Biggs, C., Tehrani, N., & Billings, J. (2021). Brief trauma therapy for occupational trauma-related PTSD/CPTSD in UK police. Occupational Medicine, 71(4-5), 180-188. Open access: https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqab075
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Peer-Reviewed
Access Type
External Resource, Open Access
Related Resources
