Event Triggered Trauma

The Situation

Following a serious criminal incident, an employee of managerial level was tasked with establishing the security of the business premises. Unknown to the employer, this individual had been subject to a life-threatening attack some years previously and had received no professional psychological help.

The Consequence

The event at work and her role in securing the premises had re-activated all the symptoms and reactions to the earlier attack that had lain buried for several years, a common occurrence when trauma remains untreated. The client was unable to leave her home without experiencing severe panic attacks, and was finding it difficult to concentrate on her work. Because traumatic memories appear to become ‘frozen’ in the mind and are impervious to normal information processing, she also experienced nightmares and flashbacks where she vividly re-experienced the original attack.

The Approach

Treatment focused on helping the client to regain a sense of safety in the world. A relatively new treatment which utilises rapid eye movements to help process traumatic information was used in addition to confidence building ‘challenges’. She was also given information on how human beings respond to trauma and she was able to question her responses to the original incident, something which at the time had been a source of anxiety and shame. Moreover, she was able to talk about what had happened in greater detail than ever before to a trustworthy and objective professional.

The Result

The client felt as though the slate had been wiped clean and the original attack was firmly behind her. She still remembered what had happened, but the memories disturbed her less and her panic attacks reduced in severity and frequency. Her mood and sense of self improved to the extent that she was able to take a holiday abroad on her own – something which she would not previously have contemplated.