{"id":5662,"date":"2017-01-07T11:30:34","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T11:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/counsellingtu.onpressidium.com\/?p=5662"},"modified":"2023-09-29T11:36:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T10:36:11","slug":"029-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-elisabeth-kubler-ross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/counsellingtutor.com\/029-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-elisabeth-kubler-ross\/","title":{"rendered":"029 \u2013 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder \u2013 Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross \u2013Student Overwhelm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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029 – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross -Student Overwhelm<\/h1>\n
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In episode 29 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly discuss post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ‘Theory with Rory’ takes a look at the life and work of Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross. Finally, the presenters discuss the feelings of overwhelm often faced by students of counselling and psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\t

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PTSD<\/h2>\n

Although the term ‘PTSD’ came into the psychotherapeutic lexicon following the Vietnam War, the phenomenon was recognised longer ago by other names, for example ‘going Asian’ following the Korean War, and ‘soldier’s heart’ or ‘shellshock’ in the Second World War.<\/p>\n

PTSD is experienced by people who have been in very stressful situations (not just in the military) where they believed their or others’ lives were at serious threat. It is a very debilitating condition, which can vary in severity.<\/p>\n

Although our role as counsellors is not to diagnose mental-health conditions, we may suspect a client is suffering from PTSD if feelings of terror are triggered by certain situations or senses (e.g. the smell of diesel or sound of fireworks). In this case, a referral<\/a> to the GP (with the client’s permission) is recommended.<\/p>\n

Current treatments include medication, and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR). Also, clients are often hugely comforted by knowing that what they are going through is normal given the situation they have experienced.<\/p>\n

For more on this important topic, see Rory’s lectures in the Counselling Study Resource<\/a> (CSR), including one on brain plasticity.<\/p>\n

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Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross<\/h2>\n

Born in 1926 in Zurich, Switzerland, Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross<\/a> developed a strong social and work ethic from an early age. Later qualifying from Zurich Medical School, she moved to the USA to train as a psychiatrist. There, she also received training in psychoanalysis.<\/p>\n

Horrified by seeing how dying patients were treated in hospital, she began to give lectures to students to help them understand how terminally ill patients were experiencing end-of-life care. Her desire to educate people about death and dying continued, and K\u00fcbler-Ross developed seminars based on qualitative interviews with terminally ill people.<\/p>\n

This work led to her psychological hypothesis on the process of dying, sometimes known as ‘the five stages of grief’ or ‘DABDA’:<\/p>\n