Even though the acute stress reaction is not a disorder in the strict sense, many sufferers do need temporary support. Often, lay people such as partners, family or friends are enough to make the situation more bearable and to process it.
In the case of PTSD, therapy should be provided in any case so that the affected person can find his way back to a normal life.
What is done for an acute stress reaction?
During major disasters and accidents, psychologically trained first responders are often available to support and talk with the affected person and also help him or her cope with the acute situation by providing information and counseling.
Within one to three days after the event, a professionally led group session for psychological debriefing can be scheduled for primary victims (for example, passengers after an airplane hijacking) or secondary victims (for example, passengers’ relatives after an airplane crash).
In Germany, there are also special crisis management teams that provide individual help to victims with pronounced symptoms. However, the effectiveness of such routine, systematized psychological support and, in particular, debriefing is the subject of controversial debate in many specialist publications, with some experts even classifying it as rather harmful.
Acute sleep disturbances and anxiety can be relieved for a short time by medication (benzodiazepines, hypnotics).
Psychotherapeutic treatment of PTSD
The treatment of PTSD as so-called trauma therapy rests primarily on two pillars: psychotherapy and medication.
Psychotherapy aims to help the affected person remember the triggering situation, thus processing it and accepting it as belonging to his or her biography. Individual and group therapy methods, outpatient crisis interventions and inpatient (short-term) stays are available for this purpose. In the case of longer-term PTSD, behavioral therapy is primarily used by specially trained therapists or in specialized facilities.
A helpful method developed at the end of the 1980s is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Biofeedback has also proven to be effective. In addition, relaxation procedures are used.
Drug treatment of PTSD
Drug treatment is used primarily as a supportive measure; often the affected person initially requires tablets in order to be accessible to psychotherapy at all. It is used primarily to treat anxiety, sleep disturbances, and overexcitability.
