Interventions for trauma-related emotional disturbances in adult victims of crime

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of several treatment interventions for trauma-related disturbances in adult victims of crime. Following a brief discussion of mental health service utilization among crime victims, we describe interventions for acute and chronic reactions to trauma. We present some controlled studies of psychosocial treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that have gained empirical support and are recommended as first line interventions by expert consensus (E. B. Foa, J. R. T. Davidson, & A. Francis, 1999) including exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, and stress inoculation training, followed by a brief summary of selected studies examining the efficacy of pharmacological treatment for PTSD. Finally, we discuss multicultural issues, factors associated with treatment outcome, and challenges we have encountered in treating crime victims.