The role of psychoeducation in psychological trauma

Abstract

The experience of traumatic event may lead to short-term and long-term health problems. There are different therapeutic interventions for psychological trauma, psychoeducation is one of them. Psychoeducation for trauma therapy is an evidenced based psychotherapeutic intervention including information about the health problem, skills training, and support. The purpose of the study was to investigate the application of psychoeducation for the treatment of psychological trauma. A review of the scientific literature in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases was performed. There are mixed results in studies and clinical practice regarding psychoeducation in trauma therapy, therefore most of them are very satisfying and encouraging. Psychoeducation can be delivered at different time points, before a potentially traumatic event or after the event, encouraging help seeking, reducing stigma, and reinforcing mental resilience and prosperity of people. Applying psychoeducation right after the traumatic experience, doesn’t seem to be very effective but it’s important to start as soon as possible and often, take into consider the individual characteristics and culture. Certainly, more studies are needed to investigate all dimensions of this intervention.