Trauma Week Day Five

December 12, 2024 with Psychology

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Today we were able to hear from Dr. Rachel Hoadley-Clausen a physiatrist. She was able to teach us about the ways the patient may react after having a traumatic experience that involved an ATV crash and the injuries that followed. The first thing that she mentioned was that traumatic events can disrupt the sensitivity of the alarm system and trigger the body's alarm system. This is one of the reasons that after something bad has happened to someone, they have physiological issues that follow. This is where post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comes from.

PTSD can be defined as a disorder that develops over time after an individual has had a traumatic experience or a dangerous event that affects them or the people close to them. As a psychiatrist, Dr. Hoadley-Clausen can help talk the patient through their thoughts and feelings using EMDR. EMDR is the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing that therapists often use to help recover from traumatic experiences. This works by the process of having the patient focus their attention on these traumatic memories while experiencing bilateral stimulation. There are a couple of other therapy options that may help such as prolonged exposure, cognitive behavioral therapy, and cognitive processing therapy.

The things the doctor looks into are the symptoms and the behavior of the patient. Another thing to keep in mind is the physical aspects that these disorders bring. How is their health? Do they have an elevated heartbeat when doing this or thinking this? Keeping these things in mind will help you determine the best way to care for your patient.