Psychological debriefing: controversy and challenge

Abstract

Objective: The efficacy of psychological debriefing following potentially traumatising events has become extremely controversial. This review aims to identify the issues underlying this controversy and their theoretical, social and political ramifications which are important in other areas of psychiatry and the social sciences.

Method: The historical background to the debriefing debate and the (largely negative) results of recent randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are reviewed.

Results: Despite the negative results of recent RCTs, psychological debriefing remains the most widely used structured intervention following potentially traumatising events, designed to reduce the incidence of long-term psychiatric morbidity. The clinical relevance these trials and their applicability in vivo is questioned. There are implicit difficulties in conducting rigorous randomised controlled trials of group debriefing, and such trials may be unachievable.

Conclusions: Demonstrating the efficacy of debriefing or other preventive interventions presents major challenges to investigators and it is unlikely the controversy will be resolved in the near future.