Short Journey into Trauma, A

People suffering traumatic reactions after harrowing events need understanding and help – their reactions are not signs of weakness or of personality disorder. The author, Frank Parkinson draws on his personal and professional experience as a counsellor, practising the psychological debriefing he describes in detail and dealing with many different kinds of traumatic events. He describes methods used for understanding traumatic stress and outlines the theories and history of treatments offered, up to the present. He describes the coping strategies used by the military and professionals in the emergency and social services, which are also found in civilian organisations and in society in general. Frank Parkinson is a Church of England clergyman. Between 1967 and 1992 he served as an army chaplain and trained as a counsellor with Relate, specialising in post-traumatic stress. He retired as Assistant Chaplain General in 1992 and since then has worked as a consultant, university lecturer, trainer, psychological de-briefer and counsellor.