Medical Trauma as a Component of Understanding Complex Trauma

Abstract
Illness and injury are constant possibilities in our lives. This has become increasingly obvious in recent years as our world continues to adjust to life post-pandemic. While medical issues are commonplace, the psychological impacts of medical trauma are less understood and even less often discussed as a significant contributor to complex trauma. However, understanding the impact of medical trauma is vital to effectively assessing trauma and treating symptoms of traumatic stress.

Medical trauma is defined widely as the psychological and physiological reactions to injury, diagnosis, illness, and/or treatment of a medical condition. It is experienced by the individual experiencing the medical issue(s) and by the family system in which the individual operates. This is consistent with the current DSM Criterion A for PTSD. As with any other traumatic event, all who are involved or connected have their own experience with their own traumatic imprints. Sometimes these events are understood to be traumatic, but very often, the traumatic nature of a medical crisis is not obvious after the crisis is over and a patient is healed or even cured.

This presentation will discuss the prevalence of psychological trauma in the wake of medical injury, illness, and/or treatment, including reference to the collective trauma experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts to the entire family system will be detailed, including the specific role that dissociation plays as both adaptive coping mechanism and symptom of distress. The presentation aims to build awareness amongst the attendees of the causes and symptoms of medical trauma as well encourage attendees to discuss the ways that race, gender, class, and other lacks of privilege signify potential risk factors for medical trauma. Through understanding the wide-ranging nature of medical trauma, clinicians can have access to a more complete picture of a client's history and therefore be more effective in applying interventions to allow their clients to heal.

This session was originally presented as a live conference session in April 2023.

Target Audience

Beginning/Introductory

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to:

  • Define medical trauma and specify one way it is different from PSTD as it exists in the DSM-VR
  • Identify three symptoms of medical trauma
  • Discuss three reasons medical trauma may not be identified in an initial assessment
  • Identify three ways medical trauma affects a client/patient's support system
  • Discuss two interventions for treating symptoms of medical trauma
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.50 APA
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • 1.50 ASWB ACE
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.50 continuing education credits.
  • 1.50 ISSTD Certificate Program
    This program is eligible for 1.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.
Course opens: 
12/04/2023
Course expires: 
12/31/2050
ISSTD Member cost:
$35.00
Your Price:
$55.00
Part of: 
Against the Grain: Shifting the Societal Denial of Dissociation (2023 Annual Conference) - Day One
Rating: 
0
Presenter: Elizabeth O. Marston, LCSW
Presenter Bio: Elizabeth Marston is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker living and working in Athens, GA. She received her Masters in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008 and completed the Certificate Program in Traumatic Stress Studies through The Trauma Center at JRI. Elizabeth has worked with trauma across the lifespan in many settings, including rural private practice, inpatient mental health, substance abuse residential treatment, and hospital social work in both inpatient and outpatient contexts. She is the owner of a group private practice, Eleos Counseling, providing supervision, consultation, and individual therapy to adults. She is a member of International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, where she has been a volunteer editor of the Complex Trauma Special Interest Group newsletter. She is also a member of the National Association of Social Workers. Elizabeth is a writer for ChoosingTherapy.com where she has written informational articles about Complex Trauma and Childhood Emotional Neglect. She has sought education and trainings in QPR suicide prevention, EMDR, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and the Seeking Safety model for co-occurring trauma and substance abuse, though she primarily uses Component-Based Psychotherapy as a frame for clinical work. Elizabeth especially enjoys working with vicarious trauma, emotional neglect, and medical PTSD. Elizabeth has experience in the medical setting as a professional, patient, and parent. This fuels her passion about bridging the gaps between clinicians and the medical establishment when it comes to understanding the symptoms, causes, and effects of medical trauma.

Available Credit

  • 1.50 APA
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • 1.50 ASWB ACE
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.50 continuing education credits.
  • 1.50 ISSTD Certificate Program
    This program is eligible for 1.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.

Price

ISSTD Member cost:
$35.00
Your Price:
$55.00
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"Your Price" above reflects your final price based on your membership status and career level. 

  • ISSTD defines a student as those enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree or certification in the mental health field and who have an interest in trauma and dissociation. 
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