Acute stress disorder psychotherapy
Acute stress disorder Microchapters |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Simrat Sarai, M.D. [2]
Overview
The optimal therapy for acute stress disorder includes cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy. The mainstay of therapy for acute stress disorder is cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Psychotherapy
Research has found that, whereas approximately 70% of those receiving no therapy or supportive therapy after a traumatic event develop PTSD, only 10-20% of those who receive cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) shortly after such an event develop PTSD. Patients who receive CBT with or without hypnosis report fewer avoidance and less reexperiencing symptoms than patients who receive supportive counseling. According to the current data, it is suggested that if the resources are available, a course of CBT should be offered to those at high risk for developing PTSD. The steps taken in cognitive-behavioral therapy are shown below in a tabular form:
Steps taken in Cognitive-behavioral therapy to help patients with ASD | Features |
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Seeing that people are concerned about them |
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Learning about the range of normal responses to trauma and hearing that their emotional reactions are normal responses to an abnormal event |
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Being reminded to take care of concrete needs such as food, fluids, and rest |
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Cognitive restructuring (eg, changing destructive schema to more constructive ones) |
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Learning relaxation techniques |
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Undergoing exposure to avoided situations either via guided imagery and imagination or in vivo |
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Desensitization to painful memories via repeated controlled exposures and systematic desensitization |
For children having acute stress disorderBrief school intervention A brief school intervention lasts 1-2 hours and uses 4 therapists per class. A teacher is present, and parents are informed. The intervention includes the following steps:
Introduce the therapists, and ask students to guess why they have come to the classroom Explain that therapists have come to talk about the disaster, and encourage students to share what they know for 10-30 minutes; validate correct information, and be calm Have children draw while therapists circulate, and ask students to tell them about their drawings Reassure students that their symptoms are normal and will ease; that people have different symptoms; that disasters are rare; and that teachers, parents, and counselors are available to help them Having students do a second drawing in which they depict a future and a positive state of the world is very important; the first picture is likely to focus on the trauma, their loss, and its effect on them; ideally, the second picture should show healing and restoration of normal life Thank the students and the teachers, and redirect their attention to learning. Previous Next Section: Pharmacologic Therapy