Media Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Review and Implications for Psychotherapy

The posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is conceptualised as a psychological reaction upon traumatic events of distinct threat. Especially after the terrorists' attacks of September 11th 2001, the scientific evaluation of the impact of media coverage of war and terrorism on mental functions of healthy individuals and the question whether the exposure of previously traumatised individuals to media coverage of war and disasters may act as a trigger for a trauma re-activation has begun in the US. There are positive associations between media exposure and the presence of PTSD symptoms. The amount (length) of media consumption appears to be a crucial variable to consider. Psychotherapists are asked to broach the issue of a careful and self-protecting handling of media coverage during therapy.