Bullying and work related post traumatic stress in nurses

Abstract

This thesis reports the findings of a quantative and quantitative study of the effects of counseling on the recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms of a group of nurses traumatised by workplace bullying or other forms of workplace victimisation. A group of 51 mostly senior grade nurses were studied who had experienced victimisation in the workplace in the form of bullying or false accusation and who had developed an extreme stress reaction resembling PTSD. Their clinical condition was assessed and evaluated against the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD and by the PENN Inventory, an established assessment tool for PTSD. The clients met all the symptom criteria for PTSD in terms of the range, frequency, intensity and duration of symptoms. Without an explicit or implicit component of physical threat in their psychological and emotional abuse, their workplace experiences did not strictly meet the current DSM-IV description of a traumatic event exposure. However PTSD was the best-fit conceptualisation of their condition. Their recovery in terms of Reliable and Clinically Significant Change (RCSC) was assessed at the time of their counselling and at a six-month follow up. The PENN Inventory and the CORE System (Critical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation), a general outcome audit instrument for counselling and psychotherapy, were used to assess their initial clinical condition and to measure the level of recovery.