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A qualitative synthesis of literature on mental health therapies for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people from multiple perspectives: the Deaf client, the mental health practitioner and the sign language interpreter
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-03-03) Gould J; Clark-Howard K
Understanding the experience of mental health therapies including counselling, psychology or psychotherapy for culturally Deaf, and hard-of-hearing individuals, is an important area of research, because of the many unique challenges faced by Deaf people. This qualitative synthesis aimed to discover the experiences of the therapeutic triad from the perspective of the Deaf client, mental health practitioner and sign language interpreter. The aim was to expose a range of experiences, as well as potential solutions to inform best practice. A search strategy was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. The data was analysed using thematic synthesis. Themes were categorised under the three therapeutic perspectives. Three main themes were generated for the Deaf client, including access issues, lack of mental health knowledge, Deaf community and identity. Three main themes were generated for the mental health practitioner, Deaf awareness, difficulties with adapting therapeutic practice and difficulties with diagnosis. One main theme was generated for the sign language interpreter, vicarious trauma. In order to strengthen the triangle of care, multiple solutions were identified. Clinical implications include improving access to mental health services for Deaf clients, offering clinical supervision for sign language interpreters and providing training for mental health professionals and sign language interpreters to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of the Deaf.
Holistic health : the effectiveness of a counselling model in a primary health setting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 2005) Gibbs, Cynthia Downing
The interface between mental health services and primary health care is changing, both internationally and within New Zealand. With the shift toward population health principles and funding formulas, as well as health strategies emphasizing primary health care, the incorporation of mental health services within the primary care domain seems a logical step. In New Zealand, there have been and are currently many variations on this theme of integration, most have arisen in response to the need for service integration and all are locally created and sustained. This study examines one of these initiatives, the incorporation of personal counselling in the primary care setting. This study explores the effectiveness of the counselling model being used by the practitioners providing a primary care counselling service in a provincial town in New Zealand. The counselling model is grounded in social work theory and practice, it incorporates a strengths based perspective with solution focused brief therapy and cognitive interventions. Effectiveness was measured according to whether the participants' initial concerns were met, whether there was global improvement, and the level satisfaction with the therapist. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used including survey questionnaires, interviews, as well as pre and post intervention measurements. Information was gathered about the experience of participating in counselling in the primary care setting. The results from all these methods indicate that this counselling model addressed the main concerns for participants and there was satisfaction with the therapist. There was not always global improvement for participants, some of whom felt uncomfortable participating in counselling at their General Practitioner's surgery. The interviews reflected these results, and the pre and post measures indicated improvement in symptoms. This model does appear to be effective in this setting with the wide range of issues that present in the primary health domain.
Client satisfaction at a university outpatient psychology clinic : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
(Massey University, 1993) Watson, Susan Jane
The present study surveyed client satisfaction at the Massey University Psychology Clinic. It aimed to provide feedback to the Psychology Clinic while at the same time investigating the broader issues of data collection and analysis. In an effort to collect honest opinions, and not just "grateful testimonials" from clients, special consideration was given to the methodology used. In particular a standardised scale was employed (the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire -31) and efforts were made to enhance the response rate, while keeping reactivity to a minimum. Forty of the forty eight clients surveyed returned the questionnaire by mail. In the absence of guidelines on how to analyse the data, a variety of techniques were employed designed specifically to answer the questions posed by the Psychology Clinic. While clients were generally satisfied with the Psychology Clinic, some aspects of the service which could be improved were identified. Confidence in the results is strengthened by the methodology used, and by the finding that client satisfaction with the Psychology Clinic was unrelated to their satisfaction with life in general. The methodology used to collect and analyse data proved useful and it is suggested that providers of similar services adopt the same strategies, thus enabling meaningful comparisons to be made between facilities.
The impact of school-based Aggression Replacement Training on emotion regulation and aggressive behaviour : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2014) Smith, Freya
This research evaluates the effectiveness and implementation of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) with a group of New Zealand (NZ) students aged 13-15 years (n=18). Aggression is a significant problem in NZ schools and despite recent progress with school-wide and individually targeted interventions, there are few evaluations of interventions with these adolescents. Deficient emotion regulation is a major risk factor in youth aggression. Although emotion regulation skills are targeted by many aggression interventions, outcome measures less frequently assess these skills than other social information processing abilities. This thesis links research evidence of the role of emotion in aggression, to the techniques taught in ART, to support the hypothesis that ART improves emotion regulation and reduces aggression. Analyses of the change in mean group scores and individual-level analyses indicate improvements in ART participants’ emotion regulation, anger control and social skills over the course of intervention and follow-up. These analyses also indicate reductions in ART participants’ externalising, problem behaviours and cognitive distortions. These findings support the use of ART as effective in reducing the risk of aggressive behaviour, and as an alternative to exclusionary discipline, in NZ schools. ART appears to be culturally acceptable and may offer a less resource intensive intervention than individual intervention plans. Keywords: aggression, emotion regulation, adolescence, social information processing, aggression replacement training.
The efficacy of Aggression Replacement Training on interpersonal deficits and aggressive subtypes in New Zealand high school students : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2014) Mills, Jessica
Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is a three component intervention that targets the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural deficits associated with antisocial behaviour. Despite the growing number of outcome studies demonstrating the efficacy of ART in reducing antisocial behaviours, gaps in our understanding of how ART operates to create positive change remain. The current research aimed to reduce some of these gaps by trialling ART with three groups of high school students in New Zealand schools. Improvements in interpersonal competence that the intervention is claimed to target, empathy, and the proactive and reactive tendencies of aggression were investigated. This research also aimed to show the added value of the Moral Reasoning Training (MRT) component, over and above that of the Anger Control Training (ACT) and Social Skills Training (SST) components, by delivering the MRT component last and assessing change in variables over the course of the intervention. Overall the current research found multiple improvements from pre-test to follow-up, across a range of measures, consistent with theoretical expectations. Findings particularly suggest that ART may be a useful intervention for reducing reactive aggressive tendencies. However, little evidence was seen to suggest the ART is effective for reducing proactive aggression. This research also found changes across the course of the intervention that suggest the MRT component is a valuable addition to the overall intervention: particularly in reducing the cognitive distortions associated with overt antisocial behaviour, as well as increasing global stage moral reasoning. ART seems to be an acceptable intervention for students that warrants further investigation for use with students in New Zealand.
Effects of postural shifts on counselling interaction : an experimental study : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
(Massey University, 1980) Hermansson, Gary LeRoy
This study recognizes the communicational nature of helping and the importance of the process conditions of helper empathic understanding, respect, genuineness and intensity and the helpee behaviour of self-exploration, Additionally, nonverbal behaviour is regarded as a critical aspect of helping interaction and for the helper this centres on a composite of variables incorporated within the concept of attending. Recently training and practice have emphasized a skills approach with the Human Resource Development model of R.R. Carkhuff being one comprehensive model which recognizes the positive functions of process conditions and helper nonverbal attending. The technology of the skills approach can often be over-emphasized, and this can be seen for example in the manner of prescribing a forward-lean behaviour to enhance helper attending. Although often resisted by trainees, this deliberate lean frequently becomes an aspect of the trained helper's integrated repertoire. Experienced helpers have at times reported that such a deliberate movement often in and of itself promotes heightened involvement and increased levels of communicated process conditions. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between such a postural shift and helping interaction. Twelve trained male helpers and 12 female volunteer helpees were the subjects. Each helper met three helpees in separate sessions. The sessions began with helpers in an upright attending posture and at a signal they had one minute during which to adopt one of three designated behaviours - a prescribed forward lean; a prescribed backward lean; or a choice of any posture. These alternatives were counterbalanced within the design to control for order effects. The overall duration of the sessions was 19 minutes (nine minutes for each of the pre-signal and post-signal periods and one minute for the signal period). Data were collected from several sources. The primary data were audiotaped segments within the sessions which were given in random order to trained raters using Carkhuff's (1969) scales of Empathic Understanding, Respect, Genuineness and helpee Self-Exploration, and Truax's (1962) scale of Intensity. For each scale the ratings were pooled into pre-signal and post-signal scores and analysed using analysis of variance with repeated measures. Supplementary data were obtained from the helpees, the helpers and from videotapes of the sessions, focussing on similar criteria to the rating scales. These data were analysed independently. Analyses were done in regard to postural-shift conditions for the total helper sample then for helper sub-samples based on distinctions of forward or backward postural preferences. Results from the helping interaction data revealed significant differences on levels of Intensity and Respect in relation to the backward lean movement away from the initial upright posture. An overall pattern of differences between and within the postural conditions emerged on the scales, which suggested a compensatory relationship between verbal and nonverbal behaviours. On the whole, making a forward lean was associated with decreased levels on the scales and a backward lean with increased levels. This was most evident on the Intensity and Respect scales and in particular for those helpers whose preference was to move forward. The pattern of differences was considered in relation to Argyle and Dean's theory of compensation in the maintenance of an equilibrium level of interpersonal intimacy. There were essentially no differences, based on the various postures, in the helpees' assessments of the helpers' communications nor in the helpers' experiences of the sessions. These findings were related to the equilibrium level of the helpers' overall communication, to the perspective of participating in the sessions, and to the likelihood of the initial upright attending position being an especially powerful prehelping behaviour. A strong and consistent finding was that helpers whose preference when given the choice was to lean forward, communicated at higher levels on all of the scales and were regarded as more competent counsellors by their trainers than those whose preference was to move backward. The context of the interaction is important in considering the meaning of the findings of this study. The results may represent the helpers' maintenance of a subtle balance of verbal and nonverbal communication appropriate to the experimental setting. This would suggest a transcendence of mechanical techniques in line with the intentions of Carkhuff and others using skills methodology. The relationship between a torso lean and levels of communication on the process conditions seems more complex than has been previously considered.
A validation of the rehabilitation skills inventory in four Australasian rehabilitation organisations and its relationship with occupational measures : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University
(Massey University, 1996) Biggs, Herbert Charles
Although relatively new to the range of human health providers, rehabilitation services and programmes have developed in response to rapidly changing societal and individual needs and in partnership with technological innovations. In identifying the key historical developments in both New Zealand and Australia arguments are made for the clear identification of rehabilitation skills. A central theme of this thesis research is to describe and document these differences in rehabilitation practitioner skills. Thomas (1990) argues that an important rationale behind this type of research is "...to reveal what practising rehabilitation [professionals] do so that they can eventually be helped to do it better"(p.75). Skills in modern rehabilitation settings cannot be studied in isolation from other occupational variables which operate in multidisciplinary organisations and due regard needs to be given to these interactions. Thus a description of the relationship between practitioner skills and other job-related stressors such as workload, job vs non-job, responsibility pressure , quality concern and role conflict and job related strains such as commitment, intention to quit and job satisfaction, is a second important theme of this thesis research. The development of skills and competency measures in the rehabilitation profession has a firm basis in the United States. The development of the Rehabilitation Skills Inventory (Leahy, Shapson and Wright, 1987a, 1987b), a 114 item self report measure, is reported in this thesis because it has potential as a research and management instrument to describe core skills. An exploratory pilot use of the RSI on a sample of New Zealand rehabilitation professionals (n=82) was undertaken and subsequently reported as RSI (Amended I) (Biggs, Rett, & Voges, 1995; Biggs, Long, Flett, and Voges, 1994), providing evidence on this sample of a possible 7 component (64 item) amended solution. These components were personal and group counselling, vocational counselling, case management, vocational assessment, job placement, professional practice, and rules and regulations. Additional investigation of this instrument on a larger and more representative group of rehabilitation professionals was argued and a subsequent administration of the RSI (Amended I) to three New Zealand groups and one Australian group of rehabilitation professionals (n=301) proceeded. The results of this administration (RSI Amended II) indicated a more parsimonious and robust 4 component (47 item) solution. The four components, accounting for 48% of variance, were labelled as vocational counselling, personal counselling, professional practice, and case management. The first three of these four were also identified by Leahy et al. (1987b) as core competencies across specialisations. Roessler and Rubin (1992) contend that skills and competencies may buffer the rigours of life as a rehabilitation professional and this assertion was examined using a conceptual model of person-environment fit and its relationship with the Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984). A series of three research goals were proposed for this thesis. The first research goal was to consider the relationships between job related stress ( here conceptualised as workload, job vs non-job conflict, responsibility pressure, quality concern and role conflict) and outcomes across a range of occupational groups of rehabilitation professionals. The second research goal was to examine the relationships between rehabilitation skills and outcomes across a range of occupational groups of rehabilitation professionals. The third research goal was to examine the potential moderating or mediating effects of rehabilitation skills (as measured by the Rehabilitation Skills Inventory - Amended II) on the relationship between occupational stress and the job related outcome measures of organisational commitment, occupational commitment, intention to quit, and job satisfaction. A survey of a sample of human service workers in the disability and rehabilitation field in Australia and New Zealand (n=301) was undertaken. Respondents were drawn from professional staff in the Accident Compensation Corporation of New Zealand, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand, Workbridge NZ, and the Australian Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service. There are a number of differences between groups in age, hours worked per week , and levels of education. Descriptive statistics and group differences on additional variables employed in the study are then provided in sequence as follows: RSI factor scores, job stress sub-scales, and outcome measures of commitment, intention to quit, and job satisfaction. With regard to the RSI scores, there were marked group differences in all four measures (vocational counselling skills, personal counselling, professional practice, and case management) with the differences generally reflecting the professional orientations of the rehabilitation organisations. With regard to job stress variables, the ACC group scored highest on responsibility pressure and quality concern while the WB group scored lowest on job vs non-job conflict and the MS group (with its predominance of part timers) scored lowest on workload stress. There were a range of group differences on outcome measures but an overall pattern was less clear. In order to assess the contribution of independent variables (job stress measures) to outcome measures (satisfaction, commitment, intent to quit) and to evaluate the potential moderating effects of rehabilitation practitioner skills, a series of hierarchical regression analyses were undertaken. While in all cases the overall regression models were significant, there was no clear or compelling evidence to suggest that rehabilitation practitioner skills might moderate the effects of stress on outcomes. In order to address the question of whether skills might mediate the relationship between stress and outcomes a further series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Here a number of significant main effects emerged (e.g. job vs non-job conflict was a significant predictor for 4 of the 9 outcome measures while quality concern was significant for 6 of the 9 outcome measures) while, among the skills variables, professional practice skills tended to be the most consistent predictor of outcomes. There was some evidence also that skills mediated the effects of stress for the outcomes of intention to quit the organisation/profession, affective occupational commitment and affective organisational commitment. The similarities in rehabilitation skills core competencies in the RSI Amended II with the RSI core competencies of the major study of Leahy et al. (1987b) in North America is encouraging and helpful in the process of validation of the scale. On the other hand the lack of differentiation and elaboration of skills evident in the local version of the scale perhaps reflects the lack of growth and specialisation of the Australasian rehabilitation environment into the various specialties and occupational settings that characterise the North American environment. The mediating effect of skills on outcomes noted in this research is important for the areas of skill and competency acquisition, professional development training, and stress reduction. Understanding more fully how this mediation effect operates is an important question for the future and highlights a need for longitudinal research to identify causal sequences. The need for ongoing research into rehabilitation skills and competencies has been argued variously as a means of ongoing definition of this professional activity (e.g. Wright et al., 1987; Leahy et al., 1987a, 1987b) and as a tool for professional certification (e.g. Leahy & Holt, 1993; Linkowski et al., 1993). Within this framework psychometric issues also arise as to whether the skill definitional process is best defined by measures of skill frequency of use (as in this research), skill attainment, skill preparedness, or a combination of such measures. The research outlines in this thesis is intended to make a positive contribution to a fuller understanding of the skills required and the operating environment of rehabilitation professionals in the Australasian region. The profession is emerging in this region and the results of this research will arguably support these developments
An application of Kelly's personal construct theory to counselling : a philosophical and empirical study ; a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University
(Massey University, 1993) Anderson, Ruth Hilary
Counselling is a process of interpersonal interaction in which clients increase their understanding of themselves in relation to others. Investigations of counselling and psychotherapeutic practice have traditionally focused either on the process of counselling or its outcomes (Greenberg, 1986a). More recently, however, researchers have argued that counselling research should focus upon relationships between counselling process and therapeutic outcomes (Greenberg, 1986a, 1986b; Garfield, 1990). The theory of personal constructs, elaborated by Kelly (1955), provides a theoretical framework for the study of both counselling process and its relation to in-session outcomes. This study demonstrates an application of personal construct theory to an investigation of therapeutic process and its relationship to therapeutic outcomes. In this dissertation, the metatheoretical assumptions of Kellian theory are discussed and fundamental theoretical concepts are elaborated. In addition, the theoretical relationship between personal constructs, common constructs and social constructs in the context of counselling is described. This study also extends the work of Proctor (1985a, 1985b, 1987) to suggest a possible theoretical relationship between people's constructs and their verbal behaviour. The establishment of role relationships through verbal interaction is a further subject of discussion. The investigation described in this dissertation involved an application of the fundamental principles and concepts of Kellian theory to a study of counselling and psychotherapeutic practice. Research participants were four therapists and eight clients. The therapists were chosen from those who described their practice orientation as largely consistent with a humanistic-existential approach to therapy. The average age of the therapists was 48.25 years and the average number of years of practice experience was 13.75 years. The average age of the clients who participated in the study was 35.25 years. For the purpose of this investigation, each therapist engaged in a single audio-taped therapeutic interview with each of two clients. Prior to engagement in therapy each therapist and each client completed a personal character sketch. Subsequent to therapy, each client was asked to indicate therapeutic interactions in the preceding counselling session which may have had personal significance. Therapists were also asked to identify in-session therapeutic events which may have had personal significance for their clients. "Laddering" (Hinkle, 1965) and "pyramiding" (Landfield, 1971) techniques were then used to elicit constructs which may have been associated with constructs indicated by participants' verbal behaviour during the course of psychotherapy. Data analysis followed the order of data collection. Guidelines were established for the identification of role construct poles, based upon Davis, Stroud and Green (1989). In addition, a list of categories was developed for the classification of role construct pole expressions derived from the self-characterisations completed by therapists and their clients. Analysis of the therapeutic interviews involved the identification of verbal expressions of therapist and client constructions. In the third, and final stage of analysis, associations between constructs indicated during counselling and constructs indicated in the post-therapy interviews were discussed. The outcomes of this study suggest that therapists may construe themselves with a greater diversity of role constructs than the range of role constructs used by clients in their construal of themselves. Nevertheless, there is evidence to suggest that construct commonality often exists between therapists and their clients. However, there was little similarity between constructs indicated by the content of therapists' self-characterisations, and the constructs indicated by the verbal behaviour of therapists during counselling. In contrast, the verbal behaviour of five clients during counselling indicated constructs which were similar to those indicated by the content of their self-characterisations. A further outcome of this investigation was the identification of six levels ot construing: a) client constructions, b) client superordinate constructions, c) therapist constructions, d) therapist constructions of client constructions, e) therapist constructions of client superordinate constructions, and f) therapist superordinate constructions. This study indicates that therapists' superordinate constructs, which govern their subordinate constructions, have a significant influence upon the counselling process. In particular, client construct system change may follow when therapists and their clients do not share similar superordinate constructs. However, this study suggests that therapists must have constructions of their clients' constructions which are similar to the constructions which their clients have expressed. Only under such circumstances may therapists be able to predict possible changes in clients' construct systems which may occur during counselling. Implications are indicated for counselling and psychotherapy research, therapeutic practice and therapist education and training. This investigation provides further evidence that the character sketch, first proposed by Kelly (1955), can be used in research contexts. Moreover, when character sketches are used in conjunction with a relevant list of categories, they may provide evidence of the constructs which govern the constructions which clients express during counselling. This outcome may have particular relevance to researchers and practitioners. A significant implication of this study is that personal construct theory may be used as a framework for the analysis of counselling and psychotherapeutic interactions in which the therapist adopts an approach to practice which is largely inconsistent with personal construct therapy. Notably, this study demonstrates that an application of personal construct theory to therapy process research enables the identification of links between the overt verbal behaviour of therapists and their clients, and the usually inaccessible psychological processes which govern that behaviour. Interactions in the context of single counselling sessions may be described and occasions of psychological change identified. In addition, apparent links between in-session interactions and therapeutic outcomes may be demonstrated. Thus, applications of personal construct theory to investigations of counselling enable researchers to meet the objective of contemporary research: therapeutic process can be demonstrably linked to therapeutic outcomes. Importantly too, therapist educators may be able to relate student practice to possible client outcomes, thereby enhancing the educational outcomes of counsellor and psychotherapist education and training.
Talking about anger : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 1997) O'Connor, Catherine M.; O'Connor, Catherine M.
This project takes place within poststructuralist challenges to psychology's dominant discourses of theory and research on anger. These dominant discourses of psychology produce anger as an entity which is categorised separately from other emotions, is located within individuals as essential and physiological, and which must be controlled by reason; discourses which reproduce mind/body and individual/social binaries. This study deconstructs anger talk in transcripts of interviews with twenty counselling students, eight experienced counsellors, and seven of the original group three years later. The texts are read, discourses producing anger and subjectivity are explicated, and the constitutive power of language is instanced in detailed analysis of textual fragments. In my reading of these texts, anger is a product and is productive of social relations, and I read the texts through three overlays: discourses of anger, the constitution of subjectivities, and specific language forms. I have braided three plaits of themes in anger talk: psychology discourses, moral evaluations, and social relations. Detailed analyses of fragments of the texts capture the constitution of subjectivities in the grammatical and syntactical textures of anger talk which enact the social interweave of claims and conflicts, protests and renegotiations of power relations. In the counsellor study and the follow-up of students, discourse production varies as subject positions are enabled among professional discourses. Finally, this study illustrates the general relevance of poststructural approaches as research methodologies for social psychology. Multiple discourses constitute subjectivities in social relations, and constitute the objects of psychology. The deconstruction of discourses weaves us as researchers into the fabric of discursive processes, not as observers, but as weavers and woven.
The impact of trauma on health and the moderating effects of social support : a study with the New Zealand police : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University
(Massey University, 1996) Stephens, Christine
Traumatic experiences are an inherent part of many aspects of police work and the effects of trauma on police officers are of increasing concern to the New Zealand Police. There is evidence that social support following trauma may directly influence the development of adverse post traumatic stress reactions. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a specific psychiatric outcome of traumatic stress with a diagnosis (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994), which includes the traumatic experience as well as a constellation of symptoms. There is also evidence that additional physical health symptoms are associated with PTSD. Several factors have been explored as variables that could intervene between the traumatic experience and the development of symptoms and there is a growing body of empirical evidence for social support as an important factor. Horowitz' (1986) theoretical model of PTSD aetiology suggests that social support is a moderator of the experience of trauma in the development of stress reactions. The form of the interaction predicted by this model is known in the social support literature as the 'buffering hypothesis'. The primary aims of the present study were to extend the current evidence for the preventive role of social support in PTSD. Using a theoretical approach, it focused on the specific aspects of support which could buffer the stress\PTSD relationship. The theoretical model of PTSD, and the existing evidence, suggest that perceived emotional support, and in particular the opportunities to talk about the traumatic experience, are the salutary aspects of social support following trauma. It was hypothesised that aspects of emotional support such as opportunities to talk about trauma would moderate the relationship between traumatic experiences and psychological and physical health outcomes. The study also aimed to examine the prevalence of PTSD and physical health symptoms, and their relationship to the traumatic experiences of police officers. To meet these aims and test the hypotheses, 527 police officers in one geographical region of New Zealand were surveyed by questionnaire. Initial results showed that the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in the New Zealand Police is similar to that of other groups in the community who have suffered traumatic experiences. The wide range of traumatic experiences that were affecting the health of police officers were most likely to have occurred while they were at work. The results of regression analyses showed that the numbers of traumatic experiences were positively related to levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and physical health symptoms. The particular social support variables that moderated the effects of traumatic experiences on psychological and physical outcomes were: the ease of talking about trauma in the work place; the attitudes to expressing emotion; emotional support from peers; and emotional support from outside work. These results support the theoretical model of PTSD and social support that was tested in the study, and substantiate suggestions that, to buffer stress, the type of support must be specifically related to the needs elicited by the stressor. The results were further discussed in terms of the limitations of cross-sectional design, the measures used and suggestions for further research to confirm and extend the findings. The implications for police organisations were also discussed. These included the additive health effects of ongoing traumatic stress, the effects of other organisational stressors which must be taken into account, emotional support as an important factor intervening between traumatic experience and health outcomes, and the importance of support from peers and from family and friends which was highlighted in the present study.

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