STRESS DEBRIEFING AND PATTERNS OF RECOVERY FOLLOWING A NATURAL DISASTER

Stress debriefing has been used extensively following traumatic events ; however there ir little evidence of its effectiveness. This paper re ports the effects of stress debriefing on the rate of recovery of 195 helpers (e.g., emergency service personnel and disaster workers) follo wing an earthquake in Newcastle, Australia (62 debriefed helpers and 1 33 who were not debriefed). Post-trauma stress reactions (Impact of Ev ent Scale) and general psychological morbidity (General Health Questio nnaire: GHQ-12) were assessed on four occasions over the first 2 years postearthquake. There was no evidence of an improved rate of recovery among those helpers who were debriefed, even when level of exposure a nd helping-related stress were taken into account. More rigorous inves tigation of the effectiveness of stress debriefing and its role in pos ttrauma recovery is urgently required.