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PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That people can experience in response to having
their life threatened or being in other stressful experiences.
My name is Liam Connor and I’m a Clinical Psychologist working with the Veterans and
Veterans Families Counselling Service.
PTSD Coach is a mobile app that has been developed specifically for Australian service men and women.
The app has evidence based interventions for managing PTSD as well as evidence based assessment
of symptoms for PTSD.
It can be used on a mobile platform, it can be used on an iPad, it can be used on a Smartphone,
and it’s developed in order to help the user target exactly what’s going on and
to then use specific interventions to then manage those symptoms.
It’s important that this is used in conjunction with regular treatment as well, this isn’t
designed to be a standalone treatment for PTSD.
The app is based on managing a number of symptoms that people can experience when they have
a traumatic stress response or a traumatic stress disorder, and these symptoms can mimic
anxiety, mood fluctuations, anger and irritability.
The symptom management tools of the app are geared towards managing things like mood,
managing distress when reminded of a traumatic experience, as well as providing basic meditation
or relaxation skills in the form of guided imagery and deep breathing exercises.
The app is also customisable in that the user can configure a number of aspects of the app,
the user can add in their own relaxing music or their own specific photos or images that
they find calming or relaxing.
The user can program in a number of specific contacts, so if they’re feeling particularly
overwhelmed or they need to get support, the app has the phone numbers of particular support
members, whether it’s their padre, whether it’s their mate, whether it’s their clinician.
When the user opens the app for the first time they can select whether or not they are
a currently serving member or an exited member of the defence force, depending on what they
select determines how the app interacts with them and what support numbers they’re given.
The self assessment part of the app has a number of questions in it which are based
on the PTSD check list. Users can fill those questions in on a weekly basis or regular
basis, and those results are then used to determine how they’re managing the severity
of their symptoms. Those results are also emailed through to their psychologist to help
them understand how they are managing in between sessions.
The scheduler part of the app encourages the user to program in reminders to do particular
activities during the week. So this might be to perform particular breathing techniques
or perform particular distraction techniques at different points during the day.
Clinicians can use the app to build on the skills that they’ve used to develop with
the user.