Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore a better understanding of Holistic Debriefing processes from a learning perspective.

During a terror attack in which 69 people were killed and 66 were wounded, a Search and Rescue crew experienced “fear of death” while giving life-saving help to victims of the attack. Afterwards, the crew conducted a Holistic Debriefing. The crew participated in interviews to share their experience of this type of debriefing.

The findings from the Holistic Debriefing sessions suggest that the debriefing process was experienced as positive in terms of social support, emotions and meaning. These experiences are further explained from a learning perspective.

This research was conducted on a small group of individuals experiencing an extreme situation, and findings may not readily generalize to other populations or situations.

Holistic Debriefing has been adopted by an increasing number of squadrons in the Norwegian Air Force.

Holistic Debriefing has been implemented at the Norwegian Air Force Academy, and may be relevant for other units involved in similar operations.

This study is unique when it comes to exploring Holistic Debriefing of rescue personnel in the aftermath of a terror attack. Moreover, Holistic Debriefing is also addressed as a reflection process in order to enhance individual and group learning processes.

Operational debriefing and psychological debriefing both involve groups of participants (typically from the emergency services) discussing a critical incident. Research on post‐incident debriefing has previously raised concerns over the likelihood that this discussion may affect not only psychological responses, but also memory integrity. It is possible that discussion in this setting could increase susceptibility to the misinformation effect. This paper seeks to address these issues.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether including a warning to the debriefing instructions about the possibility of memory contamination could reduce the misinformation effect. Participants viewed a stressful film, and were assigned to one of three conditions: debriefing with standard instructions, debriefing with a memory warning, or an individual recall control condition. Free recall memory and distress for the film were assessed.

Results indicate that participants in both debriefing conditions reported significantly more misinformation than those who did not participate in a discussion. Additionally it was found that the warning of memory contamination did not diminish the misinformation effect.

These findings are discussed with suggestions for the future of debriefing, with a particular focus on the emergency services.

The recognition that disaster workers may be victimized as a consequence of fulfilling their disaster relief role has resulted in the development of several interventions to assist their recovery. Psychological debriefing is a prominent support resource. Uses recent concerns over the effectiveness of debriefing to frame a discussion of the nature of recovery and the longer‐term determinants of its effectiveness. Focuses on the role of social, psychological, familial and organizational factors as determinants of the quality of recovery. Discusses the implications of these factors for the design and delivery of support resources for disaster workers.

There has been wide debate around early interventions following traumatic exposures. Many of the studies examining the effectiveness of debriefing have not been undertaken in a workplace setting for which they were designed. The study was undertaken with prison staff and evaluated the debriefing provided as part of a trauma support programme provided by the prison service. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and a programme of support for prison service staff following a traumatic incident within a prison environment.

Prison staff exposed to a range of traumatic events were offered debriefing. Measurements were taken soon after the incident and again one month later. The scores of those receiving debriefing were compared with those who did not receive debriefing.

The results showed that the prison staff receiving debriefing showed a significant reduction in their traumatic stress, anxiety and depression scores. There was no significant difference in the symptoms of the non-debriefed group.

The findings suggest that group-based well structured debrief sessions can be useful in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress following exposure to critical incidents in the workplace. The findings were accepted with the limitation that the groups were self-selecting, a randomised control trial was not allowed for the purpose of this study due to ethical concerns.

The results suggest that there are benefits in undertaking group debriefing within an organisational setting.

Health-care professionals working in inpatient forensic mental health settings are exposed to a range of traumatic and distressing incidents with impacts discussed variously as “burnout”, “compassion fatigue”, “secondary trauma stress” and “vicarious traumatisation”. This study aims to explore the short- and long-term psychological and physical health effects of trauma exposure in the workplace for frontline staff in a forensic setting.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 nursing staff members working in the male personality disorders care stream in a Medium Secure Hospital.

Thematic analysis yielded five themes: categories of trauma; how well-being is impacted; ways of coping and managing; protective factors; and systemic factors, with sub-themes within each of the superordinate themes.

The findings demonstrate that some staff members were affected both physically and psychologically as a result of trauma-focused work whereas other staff members were unaffected. The psychological and physical health effects were broadly short-term; however, long-term effects on staff member’s social networks and desensitisation to working conditions were observed. A broad range of coping methods were identified that supported staff member’s well-being, which included both individual and organisational factors. Staff member’s health is impacted by exposure to workplace trauma either directly or indirectly through exposure to material, and there is a greater need to support staff members after routine organisational provisions are complete. Staff should receive education and training on the possible health effects associated with exposure to potentially traumatic material and events.

This research has further contributed to understanding the staff needs of nursing staff members working with the forensic personality disorder patients within a secure hospital setting. This research has identified the following service developments: the need for ongoing support particularly after organisational provisions are complete; further prospects to engage in psychological formulations; greater opportunities for informal supervision forums; staff training to understand the potential health impact associated with trauma-focused work; supervisors being appropriately trained and supported to elicit impacts of trauma-focused work on staff members; and additional opportunities to discuss well-being or monitor well-being.

In recent years, a wide range of psychosocial health interventions have been implemented among military service members and their families. However, there are questions over the evaluative rigor of these interventions. We conducted a systematic review of this literature, rating each relevant study (k = 111) on five evaluative rigor scales (type of control group, approach to participant assignment, outcome quality, number of measurement time points, and follow-up distality). The most frequently coded values on three of the five scales (control group type, participant assignment, and follow-up distality) were those indicating the lowest level of operationally defined rigor. Logistic regression results indicate that the evaluative rigor of intervention studies has largely remained consistent over time, with exceptions indicating that rigor has decreased. Analyses among seven military sub-populations indicate that interventions conducted among soldiers completing basic training, soldiers returning from combat deployment, and combat veterans have had, on average, the greatest evaluative rigor. However, variability in mean scores across evaluative rigor scales within sub-populations highlights the unique methodological hurdles common to different military settings. Recommendations for better standardizing the intervention evaluation process are discussed.

Workplace stress is a particular issue in the fire service. Research suggests this is related to excessive demands, relationships with senior managers, changing roles and exposure to traumatic events. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact on managers of three mental health promotion interventions. First, a locally developed course entitled “Looking after Wellbeing at Work” (LWW), second, an internationally developed training course: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). Third, an hour-long leaflet session (LS).

This study used a random allocation design. In total, 176 fire service line managers were randomly allocated to one of the three training conditions: LWW, MHFA, or a control condition (LS). Participants completed The Attitudes to Mental Illness Scale (Luty et al., 2006) and a locally developed “Mental Health Stigma Questionnaire” pre- and post-intervention. Results were analysed using a MANOVA. Participants were also asked to complete a general evaluation, rating all aspects of the courses from poor to excellent. In total, 30 participants were also chosen at random to conduct telephone interviews about their experience of the course. Results were analysed using thematic analysis.

The LWW and MHFA courses were associated with statistically significant improvements in attitudes to mental illness and knowledge/self-efficacy around mental health, comparing pre- and post-scores, and comparing post-scores of the two training courses with a LS. The general evaluations of the LWW and MHFA courses indicated the mean rating for all aspects of both training conditions was good to excellent. Two themes were identified across the qualitative interviews: participants described they were more able to recognise and respond to mental health problems; and participants described changing attitudes towards mental health.

The strengths of this study are the number of participants, random allocation, and multiple facets of evaluation. The quantitative evaluation is limited, as one of the questionnaires has untested psychometric properties. The control condition was limited as it was only offered for one hour, making comparison with two-day training problematic. The qualitative evaluation was useful in gaining descriptive data, however, it may have been possible to conduct a more in-depth analysis with a smaller number of participants.

The results from this study indicate that providing training in mental health awareness and promotion was considered helpful, by managers in the Fire Service and had positive outcomes for attitudes and understanding about mental health. While there are limitations, initial results of training in mental health promotion are promising. Such training has the potential to promote the public's mental health and wellbeing, and improve the quality of life for people with mental health problems.

In this paper, I apply the discourse of transitional justice to the case study of survivor docents at the Japanese American National Museum, a site that has come to represent and serve as a form of reparation for the traumatic memory of Japanese American internment during World War II. As a longer term supplement to trials or Truth and Reconciliation Commissions or an alternative in cases where no such structures exist, I illustrate how the museum tour becomes an empowering platform for survivors of the American Internment camps to work through and instrumentalize traumatic memories within the dialogic museum sphere, even as this alternative space forms its own new silences. Thus, by applying the very theories and criticisms through which scholars of memory politics evaluate official platforms of transitional justice, I aim to complicate and evaluate this alternative form of testimony, and in so doing explore areas of growth in the fields of both transitional justice and museum practice. Bridging the gap between testimony, oral history, and museum interpretation, survivor docents represent a sustained dialogic approach to history that perpetuates, preserves, and activates – rather than resolves – discourse around contentious memories.

This study aims to view police mental and physical health and overall well-being through a victimological lens so as to attempt to prevent problems from starting or protecting them by informing them of what may occur within their career.

Knowledge production within the field of police health and career implications is exponentially increasing as officers all over the world try and sometimes fail to navigate the difficulties of their complex career choice. Many of the disciplines that deal with this research are acting as silos, so there is not a lot of crossover in Australian literature. This study creates a contemporary collective of literary evidence in relation to police well-being as well as the impact of COVID on them. Creating this collective is why the literature review as a research method is critical. Traditional literature reviews can lack clear process. By using a literature review as a specific methodology, the outcome is a meticulous record of all relevant materials.

The results of this literature review identified, without bias or interpretation, many officers became disillusioned, mentally unwell and took time away from work for two main reasons: (1) for many police officers, the substantial distress from cumulative exposure to bureaucratic administration and management styles, erratic work hours and long hours of repetitive work and (2) the dangers of day-to-day policing with the presence at fatal accidents, suicides, receiving threats to life, being assaulted and gaining poor eating and drinking habits creating issues for sleep and physical health.

For the purposes of creating a contemporary paper, the authors restricted the sample of literature to 22 years (accessing from 2,000 onward). By only selecting journals from Google Scholar, relating to specific years and drawing on search terms to limit our search, it may be perceived to have skewed the sample and the outcomes. Further work will be completed in the future to correct this.

Police organisations may consider altering their bureaucratic procedures and make an effort to allow officers to better self-manage minor issues. From a victimological perspective, given that police officers are more than likely to be affected by cumulative experience of traumatic events over their career, they should be taught how to lower their individual levels of stress, to practice self-care and to be able to trust that the care they seek will be readily available without judgement.

Knowing the triggers related to police breakdown, both physically and mentally, may help intervene in the early years to prevent The extremes of policing range from being faced with overwhelming paperwork and administration to acute trauma events and can leave the officer dealing with cumulative stress in all its guises. Allowing a judgment free public debate into this issue will assist police (and other emergency service works) in the future.

Viewing police officers as victims of their career choice is not common and reviewing the factors that impact them on a daily basis and throughout their career is critical for both prevention and understanding. This paper has value to numerous disciplines.