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E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

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Sutton, Julie; Beyond the Ordinairy<br />

SYMPTOMS LAST FOR AT LEAST 2 DAYS AND NOT AFTER 4 WEEKS.<br />

In relation to these descriptions <strong>of</strong> psychiatric disorders, for many exposed<br />

to a traumatic event there follows a period <strong>of</strong> 48 hours during which there is<br />

experience <strong>of</strong> symptoms such as flashbacks, anxiety states, numbing and<br />

arousal. The key feature is that these symptoms are transitory and decrease<br />

after this point.<br />

In a recent publication 21 , Caroline Garland, clinical psychologist,<br />

psychoanalyst and head <strong>of</strong> the Unit for the UK Study <strong>of</strong> Trauma and Its<br />

Aftermath, described trauma as "a kind <strong>of</strong> wound". She thinks <strong>of</strong> a traumatic<br />

event as one where the protective filtering processes we use to feel safe in<br />

the world become overwhelmed and useless. Exposure to a traumatic event<br />

will connect with events and experiences from the past. This is the<br />

viewpoint from which I will be considering trauma. While the paper is<br />

related to traumatic events, I feel that the underlying issues impact on<br />

many aspects <strong>of</strong> life, both for us and for the clients we work with.<br />

I will now return to expand on the four perspectives I outlined earlier.<br />

The environmental perspective<br />

In the UK over the past few years, news media and documentary<br />

programmes have more consciously recognised the psychological impact <strong>of</strong><br />

traumatic events. Those affected include not only the injured, those who<br />

witnessed others being killed or injured or who witnessed the event without<br />

injury to themselves, but also those who were part <strong>of</strong> the rescue services,<br />

or part <strong>of</strong> the news teams reporting the event. Family members visiting<br />

survivors can become traumatised by the extent <strong>of</strong> injury to a relative and<br />

what they see in hospital wards where there are other survivors. Hospital<br />

and support staff are, <strong>of</strong> course, also deeply affected. For those <strong>of</strong> us not<br />

directly affected by an event any single traumatic event reported by news<br />

21 Garland, C. (ed) (1998) Understanding Trauma. A psychoanalytical approach London,<br />

Tavistock Clinic Series<br />

227

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