Psychological treatment of neurotraumatic injuries – crisis intervention in acute care

Abstract

Patients who have suffered a neurotraumatic injury undergo severe physical and psychological trauma, which in many cases also traumatizes their relatives. Severe physical trauma and its long-term consequences have a significant impact on the lives of the people affected and their relatives. Acute health care, as well as the various periods of prolonged hospitalization, are a major physical and psychological challenge for both patients and their relatives. Patients who have suffered severe physical trauma are cared for by a multidisciplinary trauma team, which includes psychological support, too, in line with international professional guidelines. The involvement of psychologists and psychiatrists should be an integral part of acute care in the case of acute stress disorder and early-onset depression. The acute onset of psychological symptoms and the potential for long-term psychological disturbances warrant crisis intervention as close as possible in time and space to the critical event following the traumatic event. In the case of severe somatic trauma, combined therapy (pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy) can be used to relieve these symptoms and timely crisis intervention can reduce psychological symptoms and prevent the development of more serious psychopathologies (post-traumatic stress syndrome, depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders), which in the long term can significantly impair quality of life and the risk of suicide. Providing regular psychological support helps the patient to adapt to the hospital environment and treatment, improves compliance, supports cooperation with physiotherapists and prepares the patient for rehabilitation. Basic psychotherapeutic care, using a variety of methods related to medical treatments and bodily processes, ranges from crisis intervention through supportive therapy to rehabilitation. It is essential that professional psychological support should be provided for the patient who has suffered a serious physical trauma as well as their relatives.