TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre-traumatic vaccination intervention
T2 - Can dissociative symptoms be reduced?
AU - Essar, Nir
AU - Palgi, Yuval
AU - Saar, Ronen
AU - Ben-Ezra, Menachem
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - The Pre-Traumatic Vaccination Intervention (PTV) has been developed in an attempt to help rescue personnel cope with anticipated and non-anticipated disasters, and to prevent trauma-related mental disorders during and after a traumatogenic exposure. Contrary to the generally accepted approach of treating trauma after it has occurred, the PTV has been designed to be administered prior to the potentially traumatic event. Based on empirical findings, the PTV training techniques were designed to prepare the participants for distressful situations. Trainees were gradually exposed to increasingly severe sights using cognitive-behavioral techniques along with foreseen situations relating to their profession. Various interventions were aimed at normalizing using personal resources and implementing relaxation techniques. The PTV was administrated as part of the Israeli Defense Forces rescue personnel's and military police training courses. The results of an uncontrolled, preliminary study suggest that the intervention reduced the level of dissociation leading to more awareness to the traumatic event's details, less suffering, lower probability of making mistakes, and increased likelihood of returning to normal functioning. Lower dissociation may suggest a lower probability to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder among rescue personnel.
AB - The Pre-Traumatic Vaccination Intervention (PTV) has been developed in an attempt to help rescue personnel cope with anticipated and non-anticipated disasters, and to prevent trauma-related mental disorders during and after a traumatogenic exposure. Contrary to the generally accepted approach of treating trauma after it has occurred, the PTV has been designed to be administered prior to the potentially traumatic event. Based on empirical findings, the PTV training techniques were designed to prepare the participants for distressful situations. Trainees were gradually exposed to increasingly severe sights using cognitive-behavioral techniques along with foreseen situations relating to their profession. Various interventions were aimed at normalizing using personal resources and implementing relaxation techniques. The PTV was administrated as part of the Israeli Defense Forces rescue personnel's and military police training courses. The results of an uncontrolled, preliminary study suggest that the intervention reduced the level of dissociation leading to more awareness to the traumatic event's details, less suffering, lower probability of making mistakes, and increased likelihood of returning to normal functioning. Lower dissociation may suggest a lower probability to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder among rescue personnel.
KW - acute stress reactions
KW - dissociation
KW - dissociative symptoms
KW - post-traumatic stress disorder
KW - prevention
KW - trauma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957011007&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1049023X00008165
DO - 10.1017/S1049023X00008165
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C2 - 20586023
AN - SCOPUS:77957011007
SN - 1049-023X
VL - 25
SP - 278
EP - 284
JO - Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
JF - Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
IS - 3
ER -