By Dr Ben Laskey, Registered Clinical Psychologist
Dr Hugh Koch, Registered Clinical Psychologist
Kelly was a nine year old rear seat passenger in a car travelling at 70mph on a motorway driven by her mother when it was involved in a serious collision. She was hospitalised and on discharge to home, had a disrupted sleeping pattern involving a high level of separation anxiety. School attendance was impaired due to fatigue and not wanting to leave her mother. She also became phobic of travelling in a car, bus and on trains, evidencing high levels of distress at the prospect of even short and familiar local journeys. Her mother also became severely anxious about road travel following the accident, although she was not herself significantly injured in the incident.
Her parents managed her distress by adjusting their travel plans and ensuring that Kelly did not have to undergo unnecessary separations from them. As a consequence, their social life became restricted.