Big boys don't cry : problems of psychological preparation for and intervention after disasters within emergency service organisations.

Bibliography: p. 16-17

Disasters such as King's Cross, Hillsborough, and Bradford, have served to highlight the fact that emergency service personnel may be prone to the experience of psychological disturbance in the aftermath. In response to this, many emergency service organisations have introduced counselling services for employees suffering from the effects of trauma or psychological distress. Despite this, stress and trauma continue to be something of an anathema to emergency service personnel, rendering the implementation of appropriate interventions problematic. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and methods for its prevention and treatment, within the context of emergency service organisations. It will be argued that currently popular interventions such as counselling perpetuate and reinforce cultural assumptions within emergency service organisations concerning the nature of stress and the people who suffer from it. Organisational level variables which compound and militate against adequate stress interventions will be discussed and possible measures for overcoming such problems will be reviewed