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Pre-Traumatic Vaccination Intervention: Can Dissociative Symptoms be Reduced?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Nir Essar ,
Yuval Palgi ,
Ronen Saar  and
Menachem Ben-Ezra
Nir Essar*
Affiliation:
Psagot Institute, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Yuval Palgi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Ronen Saar
Affiliation:
Israel Defence Forces, Israel
Menachem Ben-Ezra
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Ariel, Israel
*
Psagot Institute, Aluf David 110, Ramat-Gan 52108, Israel E-mail: nir@psagot.com
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Abstract

The Pre-Traumatic Vaccination Intervention (PTV) has been developed in an attempt to help rescue personnel cope with anticipated and non-anticipated disasters, and to prevent trauma-related mental disorders during and after a traumatogenic exposure. Contrary to the generally accepted approach of treating trauma after it has occurred, the PTV has been designed to be administered prior to the potentially traumatic event. Based on empirical findings, the PTV training techniques were designed to prepare the participants for distressful situations. Trainees were gradually exposed to increasingly severe sights using cognitive-behavioral techniques along with foreseen situations relating to their profession. Various interventions were aimed at normalizing using personal resources and implementing relaxation techniques. The PTV was administrated as part of the Israeli Defense Forces rescue personnel's and military police training courses. The results of an uncontrolled, preliminary study suggest that the intervention reduced the level of dissociation leading to more awareness to the traumatic event's details, less suffering, lower probability of making mistakes, and increased likelihood of returning to normal functioning. Lower dissociation may suggest a lower probability to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder among rescue personnel.

Keywords

acute stress reactionsdissociationdissociative symptomspreventionpost-traumatic stress disordertrauma
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , June 2010 , pp. 278 - 284
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2010

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