Trauma and its affect on individuals, families, and communities has become a focus of many studies including the development of treatments to improve outcomes for victims. Yet so many people continue to struggle with symptoms related to their trauma experience and suicide rates remain high among children and adolescents. What is going on? How is it with all this knowledge our children and young adults continue to suffer? What if we held the answers in our hand? Literally.
According to an article by Ruzek & Yeager (2017) roughly 40% of the world population currently as access to the internet while mobile contracts and smartphone use is rapidly increasing. As technology continues to grow and more people have access to texting and mobile apps there just may be a vast field of possibilities to reach more survivors and enhance ongoing treatments. For a brief review of current technologies you can read the Ruzek & Yeager article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5719483/
There are countless numbers of apps geared towards teenagers, however there are very few that focus specifically on trauma. PTSD Coach is the most commonly used app and was designed initially by the Veterans’ Association for soldiers with trauma-based symptoms. This app provides a variety of interventions from assessment, to psychoeducation, as well as coping strategies, guidance for seeking therapy, and crisis response options.
PTSD Coach is a great start in technology-based outreach and intervention. However, it should not be used in place of support of mental health professionals when symptoms are interfering with activities of daily living. In addition, it may be more involved and require a greater digital literacy that may leave some users frustrated. On the flip side, PTSD Coach and its partner app, PTSD Family Coach, offer a starting place for the use of technology in treating trauma and supporting survivors.
Unfortunately, although there are a few apps like PTSD Coach that can aide in diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress there appears to be a lack of focus on integrating technology into clinical treatment as well as testing the validity of these applications. One area of technology that is beginning to be explored is the use of virtual reality in trauma treatment. VR has been examined with pain management, Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety, Parkinson’s Disease, and variety of other health concerns. Now those lessons are being translated into trauma related symptomology, as seen in this news segment:
This is just the beginning. Much of this work has focused primarily on veterans, although has shown success in people with single episode traumatic events such as car accidents. Can this technology also help victims of chronic complex trauma in childhood? Can VR enhance already well-established evidence-based practices? Will the marriage of technology and traditional EBP create more effective treatment in less time optimizing heath care costs? Only the future will tell, and social workers hold a key in the ethical and valid development of these tools.
Catherine's Field of Ideas 