Counselling for victims of terror can make the trauma a lot worse
SURVIVORS of terrorist attacks should not be encouraged to have counselling because reliving their trauma could simply make it worse, Britain’s leading psychiatrist has said.
Sir Simon Wessely, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, urged health services and charities not to assume “something must be done” for people caught up in recent atrocities. In the aftermath of 7/7, around 900 survivors were contacted, of whom 600 were screened to see if they might need treatment and around one third given psychological help.
Sir Simon said more recent research suggested that routine counselling could traumatise those who would otherwise have recovered from their experiences. The psychiatrist, who specialises in post-traumatic stress disorder, said: “I would counsel very strongly against the ‘something must be done’ view. One of the things we’ve been pushing for is a more coordinated approach to these things.
“All the research we have done, going right back to the Blitz, then to the London bombs – all the big traumas we have had – show that most of the time, the way people get better is by talking to their own social networks.”
After a period of up to 12 weeks of “watchful waiting”, help should be offered, when only a minority would be likely to be struggling, he said.
“We need to keep remembering that normal people deal with adversity better than we think. When something bad happens, everyone is in a state. If I interviewed them the night after I would diagnose every single person as having a psychiatric disorder.”
Sir Simon said early counselling might interfere with psychological defence mechanisms. When patients did need help with trauma, later counselling should do so gradually, while teaching techniques to reduce distress. ♦the Church of England is not sufficiently protected from terrorists and should better train staff to stop attacks, it has been claimed. Nick Tolson, a consultant who advises churches and cathedrals on security, said “trained vergers in cassocks” should watch out for suspicious behaviour. Yesterday the Church published security guidance for visitors and staff on its website.