News
From: 
"robertroerich" <R.M.Roerich@a...>
Date:
Mon Oct 6, 2003 8:30 am
Subject: Police PTSD research announcement
Researchers Robert Roerich, M.D. of the USA and John Mace of Australia announce an international joint research and controlled clinical trial research study exclusively for police officers. Research shows that 3 out of 10 retired and active duty police officers suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A review of the literature shows that there is no convincing evidence that psychological debriefing works.
A panel of the American Psychological Society has concluded that post-traumatic stress counseling is not helpful, and can be actually hurtful. In the November issue of the journal, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, they write: "Contrary to a widely held belief, pushing people to talk about their feelings and thoughts very soon after a trauma may not be beneficial. Although psychological debriefing is widely used throughout the world to prevent PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], there is no convincing evidence that it does so ..... For scientific and ethical reasons, professionals should cease compulsory debriefing of trauma-exposed people." Source.
The amount of stress a policeman endures in one month is more than the average person will experience in a lifetime. With time the stress may become unbearable and the officer begins to become dysfunctional and now has problems with relationships and eventually police work itself. Many police departments choose to retire an officer that can no longer work, if they do not lose the officer first through suicide. We believe that replacing a trained officer with a new candidate is not only financially unsound but does not respect the integrity and dedication to their job. Clearly they deserve more respect than that and a sincere appreciation for doing their job.
A private police only and clinicians Yahoo Forum has been set up for this study. Anonymity and confidentiality are assured. Officers will receive free of charge a one hour phone session with researcher and therapist John Mace. Follow-up evaluation will be scored by standard anxiety and depression scales and self report. If the officer has a private therapist, clinical evaluation will also be included before and after treatment. In addition, with the collaboration of fMRI researchers, a before and after brain imaging study will be done. Data will be collected and statistically analyzed with results to be peer reviewed and published in an international scientific journal. We believe that the treatment method we have chosen will produce verifiable results in comparison studies by other independent clinical and research centers.
Contact Information
If you wish to know more about Mace Method or want to handle any aspect of yourself that you do not like, contact me using the information below.
Kallie Miller, RN, Certified Mace Method Practitioner and Trainer
Telephone 1-519-471-6234 in London, Ontario, Canada, Eastern Time Zone