In his bereavement research, James Pennebaker, chair of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, found that choosing not to express feelings in the face of a death reflected resilience, rather than vulnerability. Pennebaker's research examines expressive emoting, and research results on bereavement and trauma often overlap.
None of this negates the value of talk therapy or of expressing thoughts and emotions when it feels right. But the new research suggests that widespread use of clinical techniques that are proved to help some situations -- like a couple in marital trouble or a depressed person exploring emotions with a therapist -- has gotten ahead of the evidence on the best course of mental healthcare after a disaster.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, July 31, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 66 words Type of Material: Correction
Tragedy's effects: In Monday's Health section, an article about the emotional aftermath of tragedy had an incorrect date for a study's publication. It said research published in the June issue of Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology had shown that after a large-scale traumatic event, quickly talking about one's emotions isn't necessarily for the best. That study is scheduled to appear in the journal's August issue.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday, August 04, 2008 Home Edition Health Part F Page 8 Features Desk 2 inches; 68 words Type of Material: Correction
Tragedy's effects: In the July 28 Health section, an article about the emotional aftermath of tragedy had an incorrect date for a study's publication. It said research published in the June issue of Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology had shown that after a large-scale traumatic event, quickly talking about one's emotions isn't necessarily for the best. That study is scheduled to appear in the journal's August issue.
"Rubbing people's noses in their miserable experiences immediately after is probably bad for a significant number of people," Pennebaker says.
Debriefers at the scene
Despite a lack of proof that expressing feelings right away is good, the United States has an industry of people, called critical incident stress debriefers, whose job it is to converge on disaster sites and get people to talk about their feelings.
Not necessarily mental health experts, debriefers sent by city or county health, fire or police departments have had training in what to say to encourage emoting after a disaster. They head to scenes of death and destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, floods in Iowa or fires throughout California, not to mention human-made horrors like the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center or the Columbine or Virginia Tech school shootings.
Yet a 2006 review of studies on such debriefings in the Review of General Psychology found, in general, either no benefit or worse outcomes from the interventions.
"If it's immediately after an upheaval, it's completely foolish to do that," Pennebaker says. "Some people naturally talk and listen to others. If they don't want to talk about it, they don't. If they do, they do. They may need help in two months, but they may not want help then."
Seery's study confirmed the foolishness of requiring instant emoting from witnesses to a disaster. Focusing on responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he surveyed 2,138 people online at intervals over two years. Part of an existing marketing panel, the volunteers were asked on Sept. 12, 2001, if they wanted to talk about the attacks. About 25%, or 579 people, chose not to respond to the e-mail prompt. Follow-up surveys by Seery and his team at two weeks, then every six months for two years, found that those who had nothing to say online after the attacks had better psychological functioning over the next two years. "In particular, they had lower risk of symptoms of PTSD," Seery says. "Not wanting to talk didn't predict any negative effects or delayed reaction."
