Loyola McLean
- Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
- Westmead Psychotherapy Program for Complex Traumatic Disorders, Cumberland Campus, Western Sydney Local Health District
- Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards
Background
We know that psychological as well as “physical” recovery from burns is challenging. Treatment can be arduous and painful and requires very active therapeutic encounters and engagement by clinicians and patients alike. An attachment and trauma-informed lens can help our understanding as we try to fit our recovery treatments to mind as well as body.
Aims:
This talk will briefly review the literature around psychological and psychiatric outcomes for severe burns injury and then talk about the bodymind interface, mapping out ways of thinking from an attachment and trauma view about “the something that gets in the way” of good therapeutic alliance and good outcomes.
Methods
Some interview material from verbatim transcripts will be shared to give a sense of what the burn survivor may be struggling with as they grapple with collaborating around help, especially where the past experience is of help being unhelpful or harmful. The contrast with more secure attachment approaches will be demonstrated. Vignettes that locate this within a team’s challenges will be shared.
Conclusions
Understanding the impact of our patient’s past experience and its interaction with treatment processes can help us tailor our engagements and psychosocial treatments to support recovery. More research in this space is necessary and timely.