IDENTIFICATION OF TRAUMA SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED COUNSELLING

Abstract

Trauma is pervasive, having a long-lasting diverse impact. It might not always be apparent that someone is suffering from a past traumatic experience. Adeeper understanding of the complex symptomatology and clinical manifestations of an individual's traumata is vital to developing appropriate diagnoses and treatments. This study adopted the survey research design to investigate trauma symptomatology and clinical manifestations in the general population in Abia State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Data were collected using the Trauma Symptoms and Clinical Manifestation Questionnaire (TSCMQ) from 40 professional counsellors and 20 medical doctors purposively sampled from the study area. Data generated were subjected to analysis using mean and standard deviation for the research questions and t-test for the hypotheses. Findings indicate that counselling and medical professionals identify trauma symptoms like concentration problems, enhanced nervous reactions, avoidance, hypervigilance and sleep problems, loneliness, sadness, interpersonal alienation, diminished pleasure, irritability, deviant behaviour, impulsivity, and somatic complaints, self-injury, suicidal thoughts among others. Specific item differences were observed. Few differences were observed between the professionals in the clinical manifestations of substance abuse, behavioural problems, psychotic symptoms, suicide attempts, physical health problems (sleep difficulties), decreased psychosocial functioning and poor quality of life. The null hypotheses were not rejected. We recommended that the identification of trauma symptoms and clinical manifestations should be included in Counsellor Education programmes where it does not exist. The paper highlighted the implications of the findings.