Brief Treatment of Trauma-Related Symptoms in Incarcerated Females with Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR)

Pamela V. Valentine

• Publisher: Loving Healing Press
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9781615990801
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Index: Psychology

The following article is based on materials presented at the Proceedings of the Tenth National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work (1998).

Statement of the Research Problem
Conducted in the Tallahassee Federal Correction Institute (FCI) in Florida, this experimental outcome study examined the effectiveness of Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) (Gerbode, 1989) in treating trauma-related symptoms of female inmates who were victims of interpersonal violence. TIR is a brief (in this case, one session), straightforward, memory-based, therapeutic intervention most similar to imaginal flooding. A memory-based intervention implies that the symptoms currently experienced by a client are related to a past event and that lasting resolution of those symptoms involves focusing on the memory rather than focusing on symptom management. TIR is straightforward in that the roles of both the client and therapist are very clearly defined and strictly followed.

There are several reasons for studying the influence of TIR on previously traumatized female inmates. Since 1980, the rate of family homicide has increased fivefold (Joffe, Wilson, & Wolfe, 1986). Women are the target of much violence, as illustrated by the following: 75% of adult women have been victims of at least one sexual assault, robbery, or burglary (Resnick, et al., 1991); and 53.7% are victims of more than one crime. Abundant data suggest that PTSD can result from having been a victim of crime or having witnessed a violent crime (Astin, Lawrence, & Foy, 1993; Breslau, Davis, Andreski & Peterson, 1991; Resnick, et al., 1991). Therefore, the number of women affected by PTSD is growing as violence and sexual abuse increase in society as a whole (Ursano & Fullerton, 1990). There is a lack of empirical research on the traumatic effects of interpersonal violence (e.g. robbery, rape, incest, physical assault). Since inmates are typically victims of interpersonal violence (Gabel, Johnston, Baker, & Cannon, 1993), the inmate population studied was particularly suitable for TIR.

Brief Treatment of Trauma-Related Symptoms in Incarcerated Females with TIR

By Pamela Vest Valentine, Ph.D.

Pamela V. Valentine is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work Program at the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Alabama. Dr. Valentine obtained her Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1997. The following article is based on materials presented at the Proceedings of the Tenth National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work (1998).

Statement of the Research Problem

Conducted in the Tallahassee Federal Correction Institute (FCI) in Florida, this experimental outcome study examined the effectiveness of Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) (Gerbode, 1989) in treating trauma-related symptoms of female inmates who were victims of interpersonal violence. TIR is a brief (in this case, one session), straightforward, memory-based, therapeutic intervention most similar to imaginal flooding. A memory-based intervention implies that the symptoms currently experienced by a client are related to a past event and that lasting resolution of those symptoms involves focusing on the memory rather than focusing on symptom management. TIR is straightforward in that the roles of both the client and therapist are very clearly defined and strictly followed.

TIR is both a client-respectful and therapist-directed intervention. It is client-respectful in that the client’s perception of the traumatic incident takes precedence over the therapist’s perception of the incident. For example, should the client have multiple traumatic events in her past, she would choose the event to focus on during the one-session TIR intervention, and her version of the event would be undisputed by the therapist. Additionally, an event is considered traumatic if the client so deems it. In other words, the client, not the therapist, is considered the expert regarding the client’s life and the impact of the traumatic event on her life. TIR is a therapist-directed technique in that the therapist acts as a guide, not an interpreter, evaluator or problem solver. Both the non-intrusive stance of the therapist and the client’s work of confronting the painful incident combine to empower the client (Valentine & Smith, 1996).

The study specifically examined the effectiveness of...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Brief Treatment of Trauma-Related Symptoms in Incarcerated Females with TIR