Browsing by Subject "posttraumaattinen stressireaktio"

This literature review examines the properties of narratives formed of traumatic events and narrative approach to trauma therapy. Several theories of memory, such as double representation theory, propose that the memory of a traumatic event is fragmented in a way that reflects in difficulty producing a coherent narrative of the event. On the basis of these theories, it has been assumed that working on the narrative in psychotherapy helps the client to clarify the memory of the traumatic event and integrate it with other autobiographical memories, which in turn reduces the problems associated with trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Research so far has not supported these hypotheses of the fragmented nature of trauma memory and its effect on trauma narratives: though quite a few studies have been done, the results are mostly conflicting and difficult to interpret. This may be partly due to shortcomings in the methodology of the studies, such as the varied operationalization of key concepts. Despite inconclusive evidence to support the theories they are based on, narrative therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing PTSD seem promising. The most popular of these interventions, Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) was originally developed to aid victims of prolonged violent trauma, such as war and persecution. NET has accumulated convincing evidence of reducing PTSD symptoms and improveing the lives of trauma victims. NET has many advantages over more traditional therapeutic interventions, being an inexpensive and easily administered brief therapy suitable for clients from different cultural backgrounds. Challenges for future research in the field are designing better studies to test the theories of narrative fragmentation of trauma memory as well as comparing the efficacy of NET and other narrative interventions for trauma to the more traditional psychotherapies. In addition, the narrative approach to trauma therapy has potential for different applications, such as online therapy.