Dorothy Wade works as a chartered health psychologist in the Critical Care Unit at UCH. She is registered as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, and has a PhD in psychology and health care evaluation from University College London. She is available to support patients, families and staff in Critical Care.
PTSD
Post traumatic stress disorder is defined as a condition of:
- persistent mental and emotional stress
- occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock
- typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience
- with dulled responses to others and to the outside world.
and its something the critical care patient can experience after discharge from the department. Dorothy and I discuss many of the issues involved and some of the things we can do to help minimise this problem.
ICONStudy
Intrusive memories of hallucinations and delusions in traumatized intensive care patients: An interview study.
What explains the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and poor quality of life after intensive care?
Investigating risk factors for psychological morbidity three months after intensive care: a prospective cohort study
Identifying clinical and acute psychological risk factors for PTSD after critical care: a systematic review.
