Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis
Psychological debriefing is an early post-trauma intervention which aims to prevent the development of PTSD and accelerate normal recovery through discussing, validating, and normalising group members responses to trauma. While originally designed in the 1980s for groups of emergency service personn...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1248924/full |
| _version_ | 1827397507931439104 |
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| author | Harry M. Stileman Harry M. Stileman Christopher A. Jones |
| author_facet | Harry M. Stileman Harry M. Stileman Christopher A. Jones |
| author_sort | Harry M. Stileman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Psychological debriefing is an early post-trauma intervention which aims to prevent the development of PTSD and accelerate normal recovery through discussing, validating, and normalising group members responses to trauma. While originally designed in the 1980s for groups of emergency service personnel, the scope of psychological debriefing extended to individual primary victims of trauma. A Cochrane review in 2002 concluded that psychological debriefing was ineffective, yet some authors have argued that many of the studies that informed the Cochrane review did not adhere to key elements of psychological debriefing. This meta-analysis sought to re-examine the effectiveness of psychological debriefing in preventing or reducing PTSD symptoms following work-related trauma. Appropriate studies were selected from three databases (MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO). Inclusion criteria was intentionally broad so that features of psychological debriefing that may determine its effectiveness could be explored through a series of subgroup analyses. The overall synthesis did not find consistent evidence that psychological debriefing helps to prevent or reduce PTSD symptoms following work-related trauma. Shortcomings in the methodology and reporting of many of the studies meant that several important subgroup analyses could not be conducted. Further well-designed studies in this field are warranted to ensure that employees exposed to potentially traumatic events receive the effective support they need and deserve. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:09:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3fe5eb8b52f94266a5cf62161ff97223 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:09:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3fe5eb8b52f94266a5cf62161ff972232023-12-27T17:47:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-12-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.12489241248924Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysisHarry M. Stileman0Harry M. Stileman1Christopher A. Jones2Centre of Applied Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomBirmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United KingdomCentre of Applied Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomPsychological debriefing is an early post-trauma intervention which aims to prevent the development of PTSD and accelerate normal recovery through discussing, validating, and normalising group members responses to trauma. While originally designed in the 1980s for groups of emergency service personnel, the scope of psychological debriefing extended to individual primary victims of trauma. A Cochrane review in 2002 concluded that psychological debriefing was ineffective, yet some authors have argued that many of the studies that informed the Cochrane review did not adhere to key elements of psychological debriefing. This meta-analysis sought to re-examine the effectiveness of psychological debriefing in preventing or reducing PTSD symptoms following work-related trauma. Appropriate studies were selected from three databases (MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO). Inclusion criteria was intentionally broad so that features of psychological debriefing that may determine its effectiveness could be explored through a series of subgroup analyses. The overall synthesis did not find consistent evidence that psychological debriefing helps to prevent or reduce PTSD symptoms following work-related trauma. Shortcomings in the methodology and reporting of many of the studies meant that several important subgroup analyses could not be conducted. Further well-designed studies in this field are warranted to ensure that employees exposed to potentially traumatic events receive the effective support they need and deserve.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1248924/fullpsychological debriefingcritical incident stress debriefingearly interventiontraumaPTSDwork |
| spellingShingle | Harry M. Stileman Harry M. Stileman Christopher A. Jones Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis Frontiers in Psychology psychological debriefing critical incident stress debriefing early intervention trauma PTSD work |
| title | Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis |
| title_full | Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis |
| title_short | Revisiting the debriefing debate: does psychological debriefing reduce PTSD symptomology following work-related trauma? A meta-analysis |
| title_sort | revisiting the debriefing debate does psychological debriefing reduce ptsd symptomology following work related trauma a meta analysis |
| topic | psychological debriefing critical incident stress debriefing early intervention trauma PTSD work |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1248924/full |
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