Treatment of common 'life event' traumas

General practitioners are confronted daily with patients who have experienced distressing 'life events'. Assisting patients through this process can present a significant challenge.

This article points to the reactive symptomatology that may be overtly present or concealed in a stressful event and its aftermath reactions, sets the goal of restoring a person's functioning and their self resources, and gives guidelines of what counselling can do for a patient.

People who are attempting to cope with a distressing 'life event' or the aftermath of a trauma can be effectively helped by early short term counselling. Although this task may not be one that appeals to the busy GP, many accessible interventions can restore a person's coping capacity and avoid the prospect of a continuing and deepening pathology. Many symptoms will not fit the diagnostic categories usually associated with stress disorders. Some may show impaired social engagement and social phobia; others may describe low self worth, states of unwellness, relationship dissatisfaction and maladjustments in key areas of behaviour. The task is to help the person gain a different perspective on the distressing event, their own capacities and the supportive influences around them.