The Psychological Trauma Care Center (PTCC) at Shaare Zedek is a research and treatment center for those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Center researches and implements early intervention treatments with patients that arrive at the hospital emergency room following a traumatic event.
The current research utilizes a computerized intervention that develops cognitive skills that will assist in coping and recovering from emotional distress.
The Center works in collaboration with the Department of Emergency Medicine and Shaare Zedek’s Psychiatric Unit.
What is PTSD?
A traumatic event involves a sudden threat that may include a life endangering experience, a threat to physical wellbeing, or sudden, unexpected exposure to injury, brutality and/or abuse. The most common traumatic events in Israel are car accidents, work accidents, burns, terror attacks, war and physical or sexual abuse.
A traumatic event generally leads to an emotional reaction. The immediate response is not regarded as a disorder and in most cases is normal and passes with time without upsetting the emotional balance. Sometimes an event may even lead to an enhanced learning process and personal growth.
A small proportion of individuals exposed to traumatic events are likely to suffer from PTSD. These people continue to relive the event at all times and in ways they cannot control. They may suffer from nightmares and have difficulty detaching themselves from the negative feelings associated with the event.
Other characteristic symptoms of PTSD are sleep disturbances, irritable behavior or angry outbursts, problems with concentration and memory, startled reactions to sudden noises, and hypervigilance. People with these symptoms tend to restrict their activities and feel tense, and to avoid places, situations or thoughts that remind them of the event. Some experience apathy towards activities they enjoyed before the event, maintain a distance from others, and have difficulty experiencing positive emotions. People with PTSD continue living under the influence of the event and time does not heal the wound.
Some of these symptoms, together with clinically significant distress, may impair the individual's social and occupational functioning as well as his/her quality of life.
Early intervention among trauma survivors at high risk for developing psychopathology is beneficial and may prevent this disturbing syndrome. Evaluation and treatment require clinicians with expertise in this area who are able to adapt treatment methods to the patient’s needs.
The goal of Shaare Zedek’s Psychological Trauma Care Center (PTCC) is to contribute to the empirical and clinical knowledge of PTSD prevention by developing and applying advanced treatment approaches and methods.
