Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Offender, Victim and Colleague as Survivors
| Published date | 01 December 1992 |
| Date | 01 December 1992 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059203900402 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
175
Post
Traumatic
Stress
Disorder:
Offender,
Victim
and
Colleague
as
Survivors
A
series
of
recent
major
disasters
—
Piper
Alpha,
Lockerbie,
Hillsborough —
has
obliged
Health
and
Social
Services
to
recognise
the
psycho-social
needs
of
survivors
and
relatives.
Some
victims
of
trauma
become
pre-
disposed
to
criminal
behaviour
as
a
result
of
its
effects.
Phil
Clare
of
Humberside
Probation
Service,
an
experienced
PTSD
counsellor
and
an
Associate
Member
of
the
Centre
for
Crisis
Psychology,
argues
that
the
insights
offered
by
a
closer
understanding
of
post
traumatic
stress
disorder
can
enhance
probation
practice,
particularly
in
fulfilling
the
demands
of
the
Criminal
Justice
Act
1991,
and
in
responding
to
the
needs
of
colleagues
who
are
the
victim
of
violence
at
work.
!!!
ost
Traumatic
Stress
Disorder’s
characteristic
symptoms
!
!
!!!!!! !
involve
re-experiencing
the
original
trau~ma.
Com-
j
)
j!
j!
J
monly
the
individual
has
recurring
painful,
j !
intrusivc
recollections
of
the
ever~t.
‘Flashbacl~s’
~
occur
as
an
acting
out
in
nightmare
states
or
j
other
unconscious
thoughts.
Diminished
respon-
!
siveness
to
the
outside
world
or
’psychic
!
JJ!! !
numbing’
becomes
apparent
as
individuals
complain
of
feeling
detached
or
estranged
from
!
!
t!!! !
other
people.
In
the
case
of
life-threatening
trauma
!
shared
with
others,
survivors
often
describe
painful
!
feelings
about
surviving
when
others
did
not,
or
about
things
they
~
had
to
do
in
order
to
survive,
often
referred
to
as
’survivor
guilt’.
j
!
Summarising
the
nature
and
dynamics
of
PTSD,
Wilson
and
j
jj
Zigelbauin’
describe
it
as
’a
transformative,
reactive
process
which
!
N
°~
s
~
characterises
the
normal
pattern
of
human
adaptation
to
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