Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders: A Case Study

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Emergency service workers such as the Police, Ambulance Officers and Firefighters are among the most valued and trusted personnel of all professions. Due to their extreme working conditions, they are exposed to a significantly higher rate of trauma than the general population. These incidents include critical accidents, criminal activity, traumatic injuries and premature death. In a study completed on Ambulance officers in the Netherlands, 85% had experienced one or more critical accident in the last 5 years and 45% had experienced 4 or more in the past 5 years. Therefore, it is no doubt that post-traumatic stress disorder is of high prevalence for the emergency cohorts. There is a vast amount of literature linking exposure to traumatic events as predecessors to the development of PTSD. In Australia, it is estimated that 10% of the 80,000 full-time ESW’s suffer from PTSD however this is data collected from those still in service. It is unknown exactly how many may have left the profession due to or continue to experience symptoms of PTSD after retirement (5). Within their cohorts, PTSD is a reality for 8% of police workers, 18% of firefighters and a staggering 22% of ambulance workers. Due to the exceeding amount of evidence linking trauma to PTSD and the high amount of exposure our ESW’s …show more content…
It is a prerequisite of diagnosis that the individual is exposed to a specific incident of exposure to threatened or actual death, or serious injury to self or others. Individuals are required to present at least one symptom from each of the four clusters for more than one month and associated impairment on social, occupational and/or other important areas of functioning before a diagnosis can be made. The four major clusters of symptoms of PTDS are:
1. Re-experiencing symptoms: including intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, and distress to
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