International journal of emergency mental health
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2004
Clinical TrialTraining-as-treatment: effectiveness of the Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist Training.
Mental health and other service professionals who work with trauma survivors often experience the debilitating effects of compassion fatigue and caregiver stress. Leaders within the field have called for effective, empirically supported interventions for professionals who experience these negative effects. In response to the call, this study examines the treatment effectiveness of the Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist Training (CCFST) for 83 participating mental health professionals. ⋯ A "training-as-treatment" effect of CCFST is introduced, described, and evaluated. Discussion of these findings, clinical implications, limitations, and future directions are provided. CCFST appears to be an effective intervention for ameliorating compassion fatigue symptoms in mental health professionals.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2004
Case ReportsCoping with traumatic loss: an interview with the parents of TWA 800 crash victims and implications for disaster mental health professionals.
The stories of survivors of traumatic events can be instructive to professionals who provide crisis intervention and/or psychotherapy to the bereaved. This paper provides excerpts from an interview with a middle-age married couple who lost two children in the 1996 explosion of TWA 800 over Long Island Sound. Their story illustrates important methods of coping with grief and sheds light on the value to survivors of recovering victims' remains. This case study is followed by a discussion about some elements of the interview that are helpful to an understanding of the grief process.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2004
Issues and controversies in the understanding and diagnosis of compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and secondary traumatic stress disorder.
Understanding the effects of prolonged contact, in a professional role, with trauma victims has led to conceptualizations of helper stress. Various terms such as compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, secondary traumatic stress reactions, empathic strains, burn out, and Type land Type II countertransference have been proposed These terms required conceptual classification to make a proper diagnosis and classification of their impact on the helping process. It is proposed that Traumatoid States is a more inclusive and accurate term to define sub-types of occupationally-related stress response syndromes (OSRS).
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2003
A behavioral-analytic model for assessing stress in police officers: phase I. Development of the Law Enforcement Officer Stress Survey (LEOSS).
Research and clinical reports over the past 25 years have documented the high level of stress inherent in the law enforcement profession. Further, these findings have indicated a wide range of negative physical and mental health sequelae from this stress. ⋯ This process resulted in a final 25-item instrument specifically geared toward evaluation of stress in law enforcement officers. The next phase of research on the LEOSS, and suggestions for directions that research in this area might take, are offered.