[Editorial] Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics Vol.9, No.1 2012

Abstract

concern about traumatic response in victims of tragedy. Throughout practice over 15 years, those events that receive little media coverage require less aftercare for individuals than those events that receive media coverage for more than 2 days. In my region of practice, individuals and families experienced loss of family members, homes, belongings and friends in a devastating flood. The media coverage occurred the evening of the flood but there were no reports thereafter. Those individuals moved through that trauma much more quickly than individuals in a similar flood that received media coverage for the following week. Individuals that experience a personal tragedy and have to undergo lengthy legal trials for either testimony of their experience or through lawsuits demonstrated a greater degree of PTSD from their experience than those that have no legal involvement. Whether the reminder of the event(s) is media, legal, medical or familial, frequent or constant reminders prolong the healing process and exacerbate the severity of the trauma response (PTSD