Home

Health professionals

Health professionals can help people affected by traumatic experiences. A doctor can help identify problems and refer to mental health practitioners. They can also provide practical support such as teaching relaxation and stress management. Mental health professionals can provide specialised trauma-focussed treatment. This section guides you quickly to relevant information and resources on our web site. It does not provide a specific treatment guide.

Help a client/patient

People may not necessarily mention the fact that they have had a traumatic experience when they first see a doctor or another health professional. They may present with a range of problems including anger, relationship problems, poor sleep or physical health complaints such as fatigue, headaches or gastrointestinal problems. The distress and stigma associated with mental health problems or traumatic events may prevent some people from talking about their experience.

If a person presents to a doctor or community health centre and reports repeated non-specific physical health problems, practitioners may need to ask whether they have experienced a traumatic event. If posttraumatic mental health problems are suspected, we recommend that practitioners use a brief screening measure to screen for PTSD. More information is available for practitioners and for people they are helping via the links below.

First response and treatment

A few simple principles underpin evidence-based care:

• Initial assistance involves practical and emotional support tailored to individual needs
• People should be encouraged to return to their usual social and work routines
• Mental health interventions should only be offered when a person is not recovering
• Trauma-focussed psychological interventions are strongly supported by research
• Some people will need both psychological help and medication
• It’s never too late to start dealing with the psychological aftermath of trauma

For information about early interventions and treatment, click on the links below:

• Impact of trauma
• PTSD
• First response to trauma
• Recovery
• Treatment
• Mental health and wellbeing information for the community
• PTSD Treatment programs for veterans and military personnel

Publications and resources

• Research articles
• Annual Literature Summary
• The Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Adults with Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PDF)
• PTSD Practitioner Guide (PDF)
• Information for People with ASD & PTSD (PDF)
• Treating traumatic stress: conducting imaginal exposure in PTSD (Clinician manual & DVD)