Survivors of Japan’s probably worst natural disaster – a 9.0 strong earthquake followed by a massive tsunami and coupled by ongoing meltdown of three nuclear reactors, did not receive any debriefing therapy as per recommendations by Japanese mental health authorities. Debriefing is a popular method of having the victims discusses the traumatic experience immediately after it occurred in an effort to reduce incidence of PTSD.
This controversial approach is based on the fact that only 5 to 10 percent of people experiencing natural disasters develop PTSD according to an international review. Therefore, offering psychological debriefing will make it impossible to know who will become part of that unfortunate minority because everyone received counseling. The decision of the Japanese authorities went beyond the matter of efficiency and savings – several studies found no evidence that immediate debriefing after crisis prevents PTSD, and in fact other related studies suggest that it may even raise risk of developing the disorder. Some experts believe that debriefing may cause victims to believe that they will eventually develop PTSD.
The recent disaster in Japan has spawned thousands of people with emotional scars due to deaths and loss of property, and therefore likely to develop PTSD. But authorities discouraged medical personnel to provide immediate counseling, advising them that most of the victims will probably recover on their own without professional help.
Instead of debriefing, Japanese authorities decreed that the more promising cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) be given instead. The technique is given at least a month after the trauma, and it consists of four to twelve sessions. It provides enough time for the psychiatrists to spot whether the trauma victim has indeed PTSD, and therefore only the ones who need it most receive treatment.

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