Biomedical subjects
A B Gillham
Publications and source records attributed to A B Gillham.
Psychological sequelae following the Gulf War. Factors associated with subsequent morbidity and the effectiveness of psychological debriefing.
BACKGROUND: The aim was to study the effect of brief counselling and psychological debriefing following a trauma on subsequent morbidity. METHOD: We investigated psychological morbidity in 62 British soldiers whose duties included the handling and identification of dead bodies of allied and enemy soldiers during the Gulf War. Of these soldiers, 69% received a psychological debriefing on completion of their duties. The subjects completed by post a demographic questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Impact of Events Scale. RESULTS: After nine months 50% had evidence of some psychological disturbance suggestive of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 18% had sought professional help; 26% reported relationship difficulties. Neither prior training nor the psychological intervention appeared to make any difference to subsequent psychiatric morbidity. Morbidity at nine months was more likely in those with a history of psychological problems and those who believed their lives had been in danger in the Gulf. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that a psychological debriefing following a series of traumatic events or experiences does not appear to reduce subsequent psychiatric morbidity and highlights the need for further research in military and civilian settings.
Brief therapy in a battleshock recovery unit: three case studies.
Combat stress reactions may present in many forms. This study presents three cases from the Gulf War which illustrate the diversity of presentation and demonstrate the ways in which the principles of the management of Combat Stress Reactions--Proximity, Immediacy and Expectancy--can be combined with specific individual therapies.
Operation Orderly--prevalence and degree of distress among military personnel following their ambulance experiences in London District.
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and degree of distress among military personnel following their experiences during Operation Orderly in London District. A questionnaire was distributed at the end of the deployment which inquired about distressing experiences. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES) were included to provide an objective measure of the distress. Thirty two per cent of respondents admitted to distressing experiences, of these a subgroup (20.5%) who were more severely distressed welcomed the opportunity to discuss their experiences.