[Prevention of detrimental effect of traumatic effect in the workplace]

The workplace may be the source of chronic and traumatic stresses. The latter may lead to the occurrence of disorders which have been listed in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM) since 1990. In order to avoid this kind of disorders occupational health service workers should promote preventive activities in the workplace. Depending on the prevalence of traumatic episodes in a given workplace the activities should be carried out according to two models. The first model known as 'debriefing' is adjusted to preventing effects of traumatic stress in special services like the police, fire brigades or emergency services. In workplaces where the risk of traumatic episodes is not so high, the prevention should follow the model of crisis prevention developed by M. Braverman. Both models for preventing stress disorders in the workplace are discussed in this paper.