63rd Annual Conference

Saturday, February 25

Morning Workshops

8:45 A.M.-12:00 noon

Workshop 81

Using Group Techniques to Manage Traumatic Situations

Chairs:         

Mark Mittauer, M.D., Psychiatry Department, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia

Edward Simmer, M.D., M.P.H., CGP, Director for Healthcare Quality Improvement, Naval Medical Center, Virginia

This workshop will provide training in the use of short and long-term groups to help those exposed to traumatic events manage their response to those events in a constructive way.  It will also include ways to prepare people who are likely to be exposed to trauma.

Sharing of work experiences-didactic-experiential-demonstration

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Develop short and long-term groups to help people exposed to a traumatic event.

2. Identify those who may need assistance.

3. Understand how to avoid causing harm while trying to help.

Course References:

1. Young, B., Ruzek, J., & Ford, J. (1999).  Beyond Debriefing: Time-limited cognitive-behavioral group treatment for disaster survivors with diagnosed PTSD.  In Hiley-Young & Blake (Eds.). Approaches to Group Psychotherapy with PTSD, San Francisco, CA: Taylor and Francis.

2. Dembert, M. and Simmer, E. (2000).  When Trauma Affects a Community: group interventions and support after a disaster.  In Klein & Schermer. (Eds.). Group Psychotherapy for Psychological Trauma. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U. S. Department of Defense, U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U. S. Department of Justice, and the American Red Cross (September 2002).  Mental Health and Mass Violence: Evidence-Based Early Psychological Intervention for Victims and Survivors of Mass Violence.  A Workshop to Reach Consensus on Best Practices.  NIH Publication #02-5138.