Treating Trauma After Katrina
Maia Szalavitz 9 September 2005
No pop psychology please

As the floodwaters in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast recede, those who want to help are pouring in. While most of this aid will indeed help flood victims get back on their feet, there are some commonly used techniques for “treating” trauma that can actually make it worse.

We’ve noted this before following the tsunami and 9/11—but it bears repeating. A Cochrane Review (which aims to summarize the best research evidence on particular medical practices) has found that “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing,” which is often offered to trauma survivors by psychologists, social workers and others briefly trained in the method, does not reduce, and may actually increase the chances that someone will develop long-term post-traumatic stress disorder. The review looked at eleven trials of the practice: none found positive effects and one found a large increase in PTSD amongst those treated compared to controls.

Leading psychologists wrote an open letter to the American Psychological Association which was picked up by the New York Times immediately after 9/11 which said in part, “It is imperative that we refrain from the urge to intervene in ways that—however well-intentioned—have the potential to make matters worse.” Pushing people to open up and “talk it out” before they’re ready, as the debriefings can do, is one such intervention.

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