Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, or other threats on a person's life. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in how a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk for suicide and intentional self-harm.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro in the 1990s in which the person being treated is asked to recall distressing images; the therapist then directs the patient in one type of bilateral sensory input, such as side-to-side eye movements or hand tapping. It is included in several evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
St John of God Geelong Hospital is a 284-bed hospital providing inpatient and outpatient care in the Barwon and south-west regions of Victoria.
St John of God Health Care is a Catholic provider of health care services in Australia, with 24 hospitals and facilities comprising more than 3,400 beds. The group operates in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand.
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder that can develop in response to prolonged, repeated experience of interpersonal trauma in a context in which the individual has little or no chance of escape. C-PTSD relates to the trauma model of mental disorders and is associated with chronic sexual, psychological, narcissistic (child) abuse and physical abuse or neglect, chronic intimate partner violence, victims of prolonged workplace or school bullying, victims of kidnapping and hostage situations, indentured servants, victims of slavery and human trafficking, sweatshop workers, prisoners of war, concentration camp survivors, residential school survivors, and defectors of cults or cult-like organizations. Situations involving captivity/entrapment can lead to C-PTSD-like symptoms, which can include prolonged feelings of terror, worthlessness, helplessness, and deformation of one's identity and sense of self.
Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is a form of behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. It is characterized by two main treatment procedures – imaginal and in vivo exposures. Imaginal exposure is repeated 'on-purpose' retelling of the trauma memory. In vivo exposure is gradually confronting situations, places, and things that are reminders of the trauma or feel dangerous. Additional procedures include processing of the trauma memory and breathing retraining.
Kevin Joseph Michael Gournay CBE FMedSci FRCN FRSM FRCPsych (Hon) PhD RN CSci Cert CBT is a registered psychologist, chartered scientist and a registered nurse by background. He is an emeritus professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He was a consultant psychologist at the Priory Hospital North London; retiring in December 2018. He has now returned to clinical work as part of the response to COVID19. He is currently an Honorary Professor at the Matilda Centre; University of Sydney., where his work focusses on the combination of mental health problems and substance use. He has been responsible over many years for a very wide range of research, policy and practice development in mental health care. He also works as an Expert Witness; he has provided reports on more than 250 suicides; 20 homicides and hundreds of reports on people who have suffered the consequences of traumatic events, including accidents, terrorist related incidents, natural disasters, war related events and stillbirth and perinatal death.He has also provided numerous reports on patients receiving care and treatment in high secure and Medium secure settings, including Broadmoor, Rampton and Ashworth hospitals
St John of God Murdoch Hospital is a 511-bed private non-profit hospital located in the southern suburbs of Perth in Western Australia, immediately adjacent to the public Fiona Stanley Hospital campus. The distance between the entrances to the emergency departments of these two hospitals is approximately 390 m (427 yd).
St John of God Hospital Burwood is a private psychiatric hospital which provides mental health care on an inpatient, day patient and outpatient basis.
St John of God Ballarat Hospital provides hospital care for people living in Ballarat and Western Victoria regions of Australia.
St John of God Bendigo Hospital is a 167-bed private hospital located in central Victoria.
St John of God Berwick Hospital is a 202-bed hospital, including 12 beds in the Day Oncology Centre, which provides health care to Melbourne's south east and regional eastern Victoria.
St John of God Bunbury Hospital is a 145-bed private hospital providing health care to the south west of Western Australia.
St John of God Hospital Geraldton is a 60-bed private hospital providing health care to Geraldton and the Mid West of Western Australia.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can develop in certain individuals after exposure to traumatic events, such as combat and sexual assault. PTSD is commonly treated with various types of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.
St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals is a health care facility in Midland, Western Australia which opened in November 2015.
Professor Richard Allan Bryant is an Australian medical scientist. He is Scientia Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Director of the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic, based at UNSW and Westmead Institute for Medical Research. His main areas of research are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Prolonged Grief Disorder. On 13 June 2016 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for eminent service to medical research in the field of psychotraumatology, as a psychologist and author, to the study of Indigenous mental health, as an advisor to a range of government and international organisations, and to professional societies.
Operational stress injury or OSI is a non-clinical, non-medical term referring to a persistent psychological difficulty caused by traumatic experiences or prolonged high stress or fatigue during service as a military member or first responder. The term does not replace any individual diagnoses or disorders, but rather describes a category of mental health concerns linked to the particular challenges that these military members or first responders encounter in their service. There is not yet a single fixed definition. The term was first conceptualized within the Canadian Armed Forces to help foster understanding of the broader mental health challenges faced by military members who have been impacted by traumatic experiences and who face difficulty as a result. OSI encompasses a number of the diagnoses found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) classification system, with the common thread being a linkage to the operational experiences of the afflicted. The term has gained traction outside of the military community as an appropriate way to describe similar challenges suffered by those whose work regularly exposes them to trauma, particularly front line emergency first responders such as but not limited to police, firefighters, paramedics, correctional officers, and emergency dispatchers. The term, at present mostly used within Canada, is increasingly significant in the development of legislation, policy, treatments and benefits in the military and first responder communities.
Warrior Care Network is a national health system of PTSD treatment centers that provide care, travel and accommodations at no cost for United States veterans and their families. Treatment consists of intensive outpatient care, mainly focusing on PTSD, and TBI. Warrior Care Network began accepting veterans into the program on January 15, 2016. It was created by a joint effort between Wounded Warrior Project, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and partners consisting of four regional academic medical research hospitals located throughout the United States. Initial cost of the project was $100 million which was funded by a three-year grant from Wounded Warrior Project and its treatment center medical partners.
The nature of a first responder's occupation continuously puts them in harm's way as well as regularly expose them to others who have been injured or harmed. These occupations subject individuals to a great deal of traumatic events, resulting in a higher risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major despressive disorder (MDD), panic disorder (PD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Exposure to multiple traumatic stressors could also exacerbate other pre-existing conditions. The presence of any mental health disorders in these individuals can also be associated with diminished ability to work efficiently, early retirement, substance abuse, and suicide.
