Studies // Cited work
Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rose, S. C., Bisson, J., Churchill, R., & Wessely, S. (2002). Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Level A Systematic review doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000560
What this study supports
Supports the claim that single-session individual debriefing did not reduce distress or prevent PTSD, with one trial showing increased risk at one year. Trial quality was generally poor, and the review concerns one specific format.
- Who was studied
- 11 randomised trials of single-session debriefing for people exposed to a traumatic event within the previous month.
- Design
- Systematic review
- Level of evidence
- Syntheses of controlled studies: meta-analyses and systematic reviews of experiments and trials.
Claims that rest on it
Each claim states what the site asserts, at what strength, and with what caveat.
Clinical boundaryLevel AConfidence HIGH
A Cochrane systematic review found no evidence that single-session individual psychological debriefing prevents PTSD or reduces distress, found some evidence of increased PTSD risk at one year in one trial, and advised that compulsory debriefing should cease.
- Scope
- Single-session individual debriefing within a month of a traumatic event, in 11 randomised trials.
- Caveat
- Trial quality was generally poor, and the review does not show that talking after trauma is harmful in general or evaluate other early interventions.
Last reviewed · Review due · debriefing-does-not-prevent-ptsd