Early Intervention in the Aftermath of Trauma: Assessment and Response
The conflict in Ukraine and the wildfires in Europe, among other calamities, remind us once again that disasters and collective trauma are rampant. Beneath these obvious and massive events, there is a daily, subtle and protracted flow of smaller-scale traumatic events spreading along our streets, homes, and workplaces, such as traffic accidents, assaults, and domestic violence. The need for effective immediate interventions to identify those at risk, deliver rapid distress relief and prevent emerging psychopathology is urgent. What is the state-of-the-art in the field of early intervention? During the seventies and eighties, the humanitarian and emergency response community widely adopted Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). Still, later it was criticized due to its possible latrogenic effect. In the last decades, the concepts of resilience and post-traumatic-growth focused on more positive outcomes in the aftermath of trauma. However, a significant minority of survivors will develop enduring psychopathology. Psychosocial innovations such as Psychological First Aid and some EMDR protocols were developed, whereas exploring the preventive use of old drugs like hydrocortisone and propranolol has appeared promising. In this special issue, we have published research exploring recent developments in assessment and early responses to acute trauma.
Guest editors
Dr. Rodrigo Figueroa(Pontifical Catholic University of Chile)