Responses to the Traumatic Event Essay

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This victim has experienced a traumatic event in the form of a motor vehicle accident. It was unexpected and Tim was severely affected by it. He got physical treatment for his wrists but there were plenty of other psychological challenges that emanated from the event. First, Tim was quite irritable at work and felt tense most of the time. He was angry and yelled loudly at most of his coworkers. He was also angry at the fact that the accident had happened to him and not any other person. Meanness to his peers became so intense that his partner threatened to leave him if he did nothing about it. Tim was also overdrinking and claimed that it was a coping mechanism for the incident. He would also panic a lot especially in scenarios that reminded him of the accident. Tim was also overwhelmed by a feeling of fear; he had trouble watching movies with accidents in them and kept visualizing the scene of the accident over and over. He had a fear of motor vehicle as these were also synonymous to the accident.

Affective, behavioral and cognitive responses of the victim

Affective traits witnessed in the victim include agitation with others (Vandenbos, 2006). He is actually displaying a lot of changes in his mood and these are causing him to appear irritable towards his co workers. He has to make considerable effort to control his mood and he has continuous periods of a negative mood. The severity of this problem can be rated as 7 out of 10 in the severity scale.

Behavioral traits displayed by the victim include overdrinking as a coping mechanism. He is acting out and talking rudely to his co workers thus causing them emotional injury. Tim has also displayed avoidance behaviors by getting away from situations that remind him of the accident. He has also been increasingly tense and is having a hard time carrying out necessary work functions. This illustrates that his daily functioning has been compromised and one would say that behavioral components have reached a scale of 7 out of 10.

Cognitively, the victim kept on thinking about the accident. These would often be triggered by an incident that reminded him of the occurrence. In other words, his thoughts of the accident were spiraling out of control and were getting close to an obsession. Since Tim is having trouble concentrating at work and making decisions as well then it can be asserted that the severity of his cognitive impairment can be categorized as marked impairment at a scale of 8 out of 10.

Developmental ecological assessment approach

The victim was at the secondary stage of the trauma because these problems occurred weeks after the accident (Overton, 2010). This victim’s coping style was trauma avoidance and acting out on others. There was a poor connection between elements in Tim’s micro system which is his work and family. His personal life interfered with him at work because an incident occurred in the former environment. Also, he had some social support in the form of his wife who encouraged him to get help.

Conclusion about response to trauma

There are trauma related beliefs that had been developed by this victim and they need to be restructured. For instance, excessive avoidance is a problem and needs to be dealt with. Additionally, alcoholic problems need to be addressed. The emotional processing of the victim is flawed and needs to be rectified. Lastly, it is imperative to deal with the poor social interaction. Overly, it can be said that the client has moderate impairment for affective severity, marked impairment for cognitive skills and behavioral reactions. He therefore requires therapeutic interventions as soon as possible.

References

Overton, W. (2010). Biology, cognition and methods across the life span. NJ: Wiley.

Vandenbos, G. (2006). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington: APA.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "Responses to the Traumatic Event." March 22, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/trauma-description/.

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