Individual Approaches to Prevention and Early Intervention

This chapter provides an overview of individual and small group–based approaches for prevention and early intervention of posttraumatic stress disorder. Using the Institute of Medicine’s classification system for preventive interventions of mental disorders (universal, selective, and indicated), the chapter describes individual and small group early interventions and reviews the effectiveness of these strategies. Specifically, psychological debriefing, psychological first aid, and psychoeducation have been used with varying degrees of success as selective interventions targeting individuals exposed to trauma. However, there is strong empirical support for using cognitive behavioral therapy as an indicated preventive intervention to help symptomatic individuals in the weeks or months following traumatic exposure. A review of the literature also suggests that future research should explore different modes of delivery and devote more attention to determining the best time to intervene after traumatic exposure.