Exploring helping professions' experiences of psychological trauma management programmes within the South African Police Services

Abstract

It is undeniable that certain occupational environments are more susceptible to traumatic incidents than others. The policing sector is one such agency, where exposure to traumatic incidents is an inherent part of the job. Exposure to such incidents lead to members in the policing sector experiencing psychological trauma. Psychological trauma is a prevalent mental-health challenge in the policing sector globally. This includes the South African Police Services (SAPS). This is why it becomes highly important for psychological trauma management programmes to be put in place to assist with managing the adverse aftermaths of traumatic incidents. More especially in a country as crime-ridden as South Africa. The SAPS has over the years adopted various psychological trauma interventions to support its members to better manage how they respond to traumatic events. The main objective of this study was to explore the experience of helping professions’ regarding the psychological trauma management programmes of the SAPS. This study employed a qualitative research design with a social constructivist/interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected from a population group that was sampled by means of purposive sampling (N=16). The participants were helping professionals from Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) that had more than a year’s experience working with psychological trauma management programmes. The data were collected by conducting semi-structured telephonic interviews. Thereafter it was analysed by applying thematic analysis. The findings of this study indicated that participants consider the psychological debriefing model outdated and that it needs redevelopment to enhance its effectiveness. Much focus also

needs to be placed on putting programmes and policies in place to assist EHW professionals with the secondary trauma they incur whilst implementing psychological trauma management programmes such as debriefing. Participants also indicated that they do find the psychological trauma management programmes educational and helpful. Recommendations were also made for future research and practice.