PEOPLE WERE VERY DISTRESSED THEIR LIVES WERE PUT ON HOLD
People were very distressed, their lives were put on hold'
Dr Kate Gillespie is a psychiatrist, originally from Donegal. She was involved with original recovery team and is the centre's clinical director. She says:
"After the bomb, the Omagh Community and Recovery Team was established outside of the mental health trust in Omagh. Professor David Clarke and his team had been pioneering a cognitive therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There were other kinds of therapies and responses for dealing with what had happened, but we pursued this particular kind. We were able to link with Oxford and the trained people there, which gave us a level of ongoing supervision, and as time went on the indications were that it was working well.
Most of the cases were of PTSD - people were very distressed and their lives were put on hold. People were also suffering from depression and panic attacks. For us at the time the model was very effective and, as it was researched, it gave us as therapists an idea that what we were doing was safe and that it would provide a good outcome.
Nothing should be taken away from the other services, like psychiatric practices in west Belfast which have been working under the radar for years. We were very lucky that at the time this new model of cognitive therapy was emerging.
There isn't a particular moment that was special to me during this time. I could see the difference it was making with every day. People came in in horrendous states, but you could see them improve with each session. There were some with whom you didn't achieve the results, but they didn't get any worse. The improvement is something that creeps up on you until one day you see this shift during the therapy.
There was a gradual realisation that this was a very effective way of dealing with trauma.
I had no qualms at all about being clinical director of the trauma centre. I saw what the treatment was doing and wanted to offer it to more people, especially to those with multiple conditions.
As time has gone on we've focused a lot more on training people, and have developed certificates and a master's degree with the University of Ulster. I'd like to think that our work will be done at some point."
Dr Kate Gillespie is a psychiatrist, originally from Donegal. She was involved with original recovery team and is the centre's clinical director. She says:
"After the bomb, the Omagh Community and Recovery Team was established outside of the mental health trust in Omagh. Professor David Clarke and his team had been pioneering a cognitive therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There were other kinds of therapies and responses for dealing with what had happened, but we pursued this particular kind. We were able to link with Oxford and the trained people there, which gave us a level of ongoing supervision, and as time went on the indications were that it was working well.
Most of the cases were of PTSD - people were very distressed and their lives were put on hold. People were also suffering from depression and panic attacks. For us at the time the model was very effective and, as it was researched, it gave us as therapists an idea that what we were doing was safe and that it would provide a good outcome.
Nothing should be taken away from the other services, like psychiatric practices in west Belfast which have been working under the radar for years. We were very lucky that at the time this new model of cognitive therapy was emerging.
There isn't a particular moment that was special to me during this time. I could see the difference it was making with every day. People came in in horrendous states, but you could see them improve with each session. There were some with whom you didn't achieve the results, but they didn't get any worse. The improvement is something that creeps up on you until one day you see this shift during the therapy.
There was a gradual realisation that this was a very effective way of dealing with trauma.
I had no qualms at all about being clinical director of the trauma centre. I saw what the treatment was doing and wanted to offer it to more people, especially to those with multiple conditions.
As time has gone on we've focused a lot more on training people, and have developed certificates and a master's degree with the University of Ulster. I'd like to think that our work will be done at some point."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT10An/22
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
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