Trastornos de estrés agudo: consideraciones a partir de un caso clínico en el ámbito militar

Introduction: The case of a 32-year-old military man diagnosed with acute stress disorder during his deployment to the area of operations in Afghanistan is presented. The symptoms manifested by the patient incapacitated him for the service. Objective: The therapeutic objective is to control the patient’s stress symptoms and to normalize their psychological condition, to achieve their full return to active duty. Material and Methods: Single case design, pre-post treatment. The instruments used for the diagnosis and post-treatment measure were the Adaptation Questionnaire 6RA, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Acute Stress Symptoms Scale. A short therapeutic program of 7 sessions was applied, based on psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, training in relaxation techniques and live exposure. Results: The post-treatment evaluation shows a significant reduction in the symptoms of acute stress. The normalization of the patient’s psychological condition allowed him to return to work, completing the rest of the mission without incident. Conclusions: This paper shows the effectiveness of brief psychotherapies for the treatment of stress disorders in military operations abroad. These psychotherapies allow the military to maintain its operability and rejoin the military service as soon as possible. Pre-deployment preventive measures are essential for the military’s adaptation.