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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Institutional Affiliation
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Abstract
The interviewee whose case is presented in this document is Arian Taylor, who is a 24
multiracial female currently living with her father in Atlanta, Georgia. When she was 17 years
old, Arian witnessed the cold death murder of her mother and brother in their Antioch home.
This trauma pervasively impacted her life. She began to experience some PSTD related
symptoms, including prolonged irritability, sadness, anger, and thoughts of the traumatic
incident. For underage, traumatic incidence presents s pervasive impacts which may interfere
with their development. Without haste treatment, traumatic events present emotional and
mental implications, and the child may sink into depression or substance abuse. The client felt
that was that match affected until the sixth month after the event took place.
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Introduction
Trauma is a serious and distressing event that encounters individuals and presents
negative consequences. It presents an emotional, psychological, and financial impact on the
individuals or the community. For instance, most disaster survivors, witnesses, or even rescue
teams experience trauma aftermath. An individual who has experienced a distressing event feels
physically threatened or extremely frightened. In the process of responding or coping with the
trauma, people are likely to get in denial about the effect of trauma on them. Consequently, some
people tend to adopt unhealthy coping strategies like overeating, alcohol, or substance abuse.
Also, some people may decide to detach themselves from their friends and family member.
This paper presents the experiences of Ariana Taylor, who witnessed the murder and brother in
their Antioch home.
Interview Findings
In this course, Arian Taylor is a 24 multiracial female currently living with her father in
Atlanta, Georgia. A one-hour interview was held via zoom, and it began from 10.01 am to 11.01
am. My interviewee is a 24 years’ multiracial lady currently living in Atlanta, Georgia. Taylor
says that she comes from a family of three, and she is the eldest among her other two siblings.
She alludes her brother Brian Taylor would be 18 years and her younger sister Darian Taylor is
ten years. The interviewee recounts her horrific experience with an event that left her mother
and brother dead- she escaped with life-threatening injuries. At the time of this tragic event, the
victim and her family lived at their home in Antioch, California. Their parents had divorced
when she was ten years where the father later remarried. Her father is an African American and
works as a doctor in one of the biggest hospitals in Georgia.
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On the other hand, her mother worked as an auditor and worked for the Earnest and
Young Company as a forensic auditor. At the time of incidence, the victim was 17 years old, and
she was at junior high school; the brother was in fifth grade while the youngest sister was in
preschool. The victim says that March 13th is she will not forget, and it made her life miserable.
She was woken up by screaming from her mother. She ran to close the door, to hear the door
knocked open by an assailant who happened to be her Mothers' Ex-boyfriend. The man held a
butcher knife and stabbed her twice at the hand and stomach. The killer turned on to her after
stabbing their mother multiple times on the head and abdomen. Ariana Taylor began begging
the killer not to kill her. He drugged her to a sitting room where her mother was lying helplessly
over the pool of blood, and she was gasping in pain. The killer promised to kill them as he had
only broken into Brian's room and killed him first. Ariana happened to fight the killer and
managed to escape with her mother. Sadly, the mother was out running by the killer where he
killed her inform of Arian. Although my sister and I happened to escape arrive, “this horrible
event has indeed affected my life badly. She could not avoid the images of what happened as it
completely traumatized her. To her, she could not figure out how a person they trusted could
turn out to plot heinous actions against them.
I learned that the trauma event left the victim in shock, fear, and confusion. The victim
illustrates that immediately she saw her mother killed, she ran to the neighbor’s door, knocked,
and cried out for help, where she immediately fainted. “I do not know what happened, but what I
remember is I woke up in the hospital bed shouting and fighting out nurses." Immediately, I
opened my eyes; I saw a silhouette of a man, who I thought was a killer; I began fighting nurses
unknowingly”. She said that “I could not figure out how I would live this life without my
mother and a brother." For about two years I was unable to sleep well, and I hated switching off
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my lights when sleeping. I constantly feared that the assailant would break in again to kill us
too”. Ariana Taylor stated that she felt sad and cried all the time. At times she blamed herself for
not rescuing her mother from the killer. She felt devastated, angered, and mistreated. Moreover,
she hated hearing or seeing anything that would remind her about the tragic event. For instance,
she stated that she loathed people banging the door, fireworks blasts, or even people shouting.
Moreover, she hated walking in the streets or staying in the house alone. At least, she needed to
have a company to guarantee her safety.
From her response, I learned that Arian Taylor essentially utilized the wrong coping
methods. She illustrated that she sunk in alcohol abuse and later in hard drugs like Marijuana and
drugs as a way of trying to cope up with the tragic event. “I drunk about four to five bottles of
beer and used method in attempt forgetting about the tragic event and how I lost both my brother
and mother." “To some extent, drug and alcohol use gave me a piece of mind as I could not
remember about what has happened to my life." However, she says that this path negatively
impacted her education, as she missed her classes ended dropping out after her performance
plummeted dramatically. Despite numerous requests from her family that she needed therapy,
Ariana continued to resist arguing that she was okay. All this time, Ariana was in denial about
what happened in life. It was difficult to accept that she lost her mother and brother. She also
illustrates that she used to overeat as a way of coping with her mother and brother's killing.
However, this coping method caused her to add 22 pounds resulting in weight issues.
In 2016, Ariana was able to develop appropriate coping strategies that enabled her to
overcome the traumatic experience- this occurred soon after she received therapy. I accepted
that the traumatic event occurred; nothing could be done to reverse it. “It came to my sense that I
lost my mother, and nothing more could be done to bring them back to life." She said.
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"Therefore, what I could do is to accept that they are absent in my life but equally, I needed to
fight on to make them proud." She also identified things that are good about the change
resulting e from the trauma. According to Ariana, she came to realize that she is her mother and
brother representative in criminal justice. Also, she realized that her sister depended on her.
Therefore, she needed to remain strong and optimistic. Another thing that the victim outlined is
that she became close to God as she believed that He would give her more strength. “Up to date,
the scripture is the source of my strength, and there are several verses that give me inspiration.
For instance, I love reading Isaiah 40:31, which says that “But those who hope in the Lord will
renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they
will walk and not be faint”. She believes that her mother and brother are dead, but their spirit is
watching them.
Another thing that I learned from the victims is that the symptoms can go as many as
three and a half years. She experienced some symptoms like flashbacks, hallucinations, and
nightmares. Also, she experienced some arousal, negative thoughts, and irritation. Ariana
outlined that her case was special as she received Drug addiction therapy and psychotherapy for
PSTD. Also, she was given antidepressants to help her recover from depression.
Analysis and Discussion
Ariana experienced the traumatic event when she was still a child. In particular, Ariana
Taylor experienced acute trauma. It mainly results from a single distressing event such as
natural disaster, accident, rape, or assault. In this case, Ariana Taylor experienced assault as a
traumatic event. To her, the event was extremely enough to threaten the person's emotional or
physical security. It created a long-lasting impression on her mind. In case it is not addressed
through medical help, this trauma may affect how the victims behave or thinks.
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For children, traumatic incidence presents s pervasive impacts which may interfere with
their development. Without haste treatment, traumatic events present emotional and mental
implications, and the child may sink into depression or substance abuse. The client felt that was
that match affected until the sixth month after the event took place. She outlined that the
symptoms took three and a half years, and it is when she realized that her life was heading in the
wrong direction. Based on the symptoms the interviewee presented, it is quite clear that she
suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD). From her response, Ariana Taylor
illustrated that she experienced some symptoms like nightmares, hallucinations, and flashbacks
for about three and a half years. She felt great distress when some activities like a door banging
or people are shouting birthdays or the anniversary of the date that the event took place.
According to her, the client felt that these things reminded her about the trauma which put them
in distress. Also, symptoms like avoidance illustrate that the interviewee suffered from PSTD.
She illustrated that she everything possible to avoid thoughts, situations, people, or places related
to the trauma. In order to make sure that hat she forgot everything related to the trauma, Ariana
turned on to substance abuse which ended harmful as she turned out to be a drug addict. This can
eventually lead to a feeling of detachment and isolation from the family and friends as well as
other activities that an individual enjoyed. For instance, this is quite evident to the interviewee as
she lost interest in education despite being a performer before the traumatic event. Mellor, A.,
Hamill, Jenkins, Baucom, Norton, & Drummond (2019) illustrates that the use of substances like
alcohol or hard drugs is an unhealthy coping strategy as it adds another problem of substance
dependence to the victim. Therefore, individuals need to seek professional therapists to boost their
resilience to a traumatic event.
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Another symptom that reveals that Ariana suffered from depression is increased levels of
arousals which included excessive emotions. She illustrated she experiences outbursts of anger,
irritability, and difficulty in concentrating. Most of the time, she was absentminded. At times Ariana
illustrated that she experienced deep breathing patterns and muscle tension. This was mainly caused
by an increase in brain activities like overthinking. Other PSTD symptoms that the interviewee
experienced is negative cognitions and mood. In particular, Ariana illustrated that she experienced
thoughts and feelings that are related to memories of the traumatic event or blame. Ariana, at some
point, felt that she did not do enough to save her mother from the killer.
In their writing, Briere & Scott (2014). integrates the principles of trauma therapy in the
provision of therapy to victims of traumatic events. Basically, these principles stem from the
theoretical perspective of exposure therapy, and a large part of its content stems from treatment
orientations. In most cases, the clinicians invite trauma victims to therapy to develop alternative
perceptions to their negative beliefs as well as about themselves. They center on reducing
“conditioned emotional responses” (CER), especially to trauma victims.
The interviewee illustrates that she witnessed the killing of her mother and brother after their
mother ex-boyfriend attacked them. Although she escaped with some physical injuries, the traumatic
event left her with mental and emotional dents. The serious injury or death of another person
produces significant psychological distress and symptomatology, particularly when the murdered
person, a relative, or the condition is diagnosed later. In this regard, Ariana Taylor witnessed the
death murder of her mother and a brother by someone well known to her.
According to the Federal Bureau of investigation 2010 report, there were approximately
14,748 homicide cases in the country. This accounted for a rate of 4.8 per every 100,000 people. In
other words, around five people are either murdered or commit suicide per every 100,000 people.
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The data indicate that homicide cases in the family are associated with a spouse, friends, offspring, or
parents. Similarly, the majority of the homicide witnesses are either spouses, friends, offspring, or
parents, making them a proportion of homicide survivors in the general population. Another study
showed that out of 1,753 American young adults reached in a calling survey, fifteen percent had
experienced the loss by homicide of a close friend or family member. Some of the psychological
effects that are associated with murder on the victims include anger, post-traumatic stress, substance
abuse, and depression.
Zoellner, Rabe, Karl, & Maercker (2011) outline that various intervention techniques can
be applied to help patients like Ariana Taylor, including Cognitive behavioral therapy,
psychodynamic approaches, and mindfulness. CBT is an effective strategy for treating patients
exhibiting both behavioral and cognitive issues. Most of the literature examines the application
of CBT in the young population (Zoellner, Rabe, Karl, & Maercker, 2011). Few studies have
been conducted to evaluate CBT's effectiveness in addressing behavioral and cognitive issues
among PSTD victims. Chand & Grossberg (2013) assessed the effectiveness of CBT to treat
older adults with alcohol dependence problems. After conducting the empirical study, Keen,
Hunter, & Peters (2017). found group therapy is more effective as it gives patients a chance to
interact. On the other hand, Keen, Hunter, & Peters (2017) argue that individual intervention is
the most appropriate for an individual with behavioral difficulties. CBT in the PSTD victim
population should explicitly address physical and spiritual health as well as behavior treatment.
The therapist should start by conducting a careful functional analysis. It is an essential step of
CBT as it involves identifying dysfunctional beliefs among older adult clients. Secondly, the
therapist should provide relapse education and psychoeducation (Mellor, Hamill, Jenkins, M. .,
Baucom, Norton, & Drummond, 2019). This will help to modify dysfunctional beliefs and other
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related outcomes of substance use. Self-efficacy or coping are relevant and overlapping at this
stage. Another useful strategy discussed by Keen, Hunter, & Peters (2017) is the advantage/
disadvantage technique with the client. In this technique, a therapist and a client collaboratively
assess the cost and benefits of engaging in addictive behavior. It aims at developing cognitive
dissonance. Keen, Hunter, & Peters (2017) highlight that negative automatic thoughts (NATS)
are paramount in cognitive behavioral therapy. Nats are a stream of thoughts that people can
notice and pay attention to them (Keen, Hunter, & Peters, 2017). They are negative thoughts that
make patients think about what might happen to them, and they have a negative impact on
feelings and mood. Here, the patient is encouraged to respond to nats through the use of a variety
of different verbal responses that varies from an already established problem.
Mindfulness comprises the capacity of an individual therapist should uphold wariness
and openness to the current patient’s experiences, including mental, emotional, and
psychological state and various aspects of the external world, without judging him or her and
with acceptance. This intervention strategy combines the cognitive-behavioral techniques with
mindfulness strategies in order to help a patient to better comprehend and manage their emotions
in order to relief from feelings of distress. Originally, this strategy was utilized to address
recurrent depression; it is equally beneficial to people seeking treatment for various mental
health issues, including PSTD. Mindfulness techniques comprise an individual focusing on being
intensely aware of what he or she is sensing and feeling in the moment, without judgment or
interpretation (Keen, Hunter, & Peters, 2017). Practicing mindfulness involves taking breathing
methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind as well as helping to
reduce stress. Therefore, the mindfulness technique would have helped Ariana Taylor to
practice some exercises to direct her attention away from traumatic events and thus engage her in
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the world around her. This type of therapy helps individuals to learn how to use cognitive
methods and mindfulness mediation to interfere with the automatic processes which trigger
PSTD. Basically, negative thoughts, low moods, and certain body sensations like sluggishness
and weariness often occur together during an episode of depression. The last model that can be
utilized is narrative reconstruction. Trauma event survivors may tend to exhibit long-term
mental, psychological or emotional consequences, which may be challenging to address using
the above-mentioned models. The model can be applied to help trauma survivors who are
experiencing disorganization of memory and recurrent memories of the loss. The model was
essentially designed for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD).
Conclusion
PSTD is one of the conditions that affect people who experience traumatic events in their
life. Indeed, the trauma can either be chronic, acute, or complex. Various crisis intervention
theories and models can be utilized to address the crisis. According to Briere & Scott (2014),
crisis intervention is an immediate or short-term response to physical, emotional, mental, and
behavioral distress. In this case, three crisis intervention models will be discussed, critical in
helping disaster survivors.
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References
Briere, J. N., & Scott, C. (2014). Principles of trauma therapy: A guide to symptoms, evaluation,
and treatment (DSM-5 update). Sage Publications.
Zoellner, T., Rabe, S., Karl, A., & Maercker, A. (2011). Post‐traumatic growth as an outcome of
a cognitive‐behavioural therapy trial for motor vehicle accident survivors with
PTSD. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 84(2), 201-213.
Keen, N., Hunter, E., & Peters, E. (2017). Integrated trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural
therapy for post-traumatic stress and psychotic symptoms: a case-series study using
imaginal reprocessing strategies. Frontiers in psychiatry, 8, 92.
Mellor, A., Hamill, K., Jenkins, M. M., Baucom, D. H., Norton, P. J., & Drummond, S. P.
(2019). Partner-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia versus cognitive
behavioral therapy for insomnia: a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 20(1), 1-12.
