TRAUMA AND STRESSOR RELATED DISORDERS

1. PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)

- Disturbing pattern witnessed or been confronted with a traumatic event
E.G: Natural Disaster

4 sub categories of symptoms

- Re-experiencing trauma through dreams or recurrent intrusive thoughts.
- Avoidance
- Negative cognition or thoughts
- Being on guard or hyper arousal states
E.G: When you are sleeping then it is on a wooden bed then suddenly there is a person walking
towards you. That you can feel its footstep, so you’re on guard. But if you’re on guard often it is
PTSD.

- SYSPMPTOMS OCCUR 3 MONTHS OR MORE

- ONSET: CAN BE DELAYED FOR MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS

- TYPICALLY CHRONIC IN NATURE

- Can occur in any age

-60% people at risk

a.) Combat Veterans b.) Victims of Violence c.) Natural Disasters

-Complete recovery occurs within 3 months for about 50% of people

- ¼ of all victims of physical assault develop PTSD.

Victims of rape have one of the highest rates of PTSD at approximately 70%

Acute Stress Disorder

- 3 days to 1 month
- Onset: 3days to 1 month

RELATED DISORDERS
Adjustment disorder Acute Stress disorder
Is a reaction to a stressful event that After a traumatic event and is
causes problems for the individual? characterized by re-experiencing
E.G: CANNOT ADJUST avoidance and hyper arousal

Symptoms develop within a month

lasting no more than 6 mos. Occur from 3 days to 4 weeks
following trauma
ETIOLOGY
- Before, was classified under anxiety disorders
- Effects of trauma at the time are more powerful predictors of PTSD that anxiety or fear

DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of disorders)

Criteria in diagnosing using DSM 5:

A. Exposure to actual or threatened death serious injury or sexual violence.

B. Presence of intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic events, beginning after the
traumatic events occurred.
C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic events beginning after the
traumatic events occurred.
D. Negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the traumatic events. Beginning or
worsening after the traumatic events occurred.
E. Marked alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic events beginning or
worsening after the traumatic events occurred.
F. Duration of the disturbance (Criteria B, C, D and E) is more than 1 month.
G. The Disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social occupational or
other important areas of functioning.
H. The disturbance is not attributable to physical effects of a substance
E.G: Medication, alcohol or other medical condition.

TREATMENT
- Counseling or therapy, individually or in a groups, for people with acute stress disorder may
prevent progression to PTSD.
- Therapy on an outpatient basis is the indicated treatment for PTSD.
- Medications for targeting specific issues and clients overwhelmed by re-experiencing symptoms

Exposure Therapy

 Is a treatment approach designed to combat the avoidance behavior that occurs with PTSD
 The client confronts the feared emotions
 Various relaxation techniques

Adaptive Disclosure

 Is a specialized CBT approach developed by the military to offer an intense, specific, short term
therapy for active duty military personnel with PTSD.

MEDICATIONS
-Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)

-Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressants

-Second generation anti-psychotic, such as risperidone

2. Dissociative Disorders
- DISSOCIATION is a Subconscious defense mechanism that helps a person protect his or her
emotional self from recognizing the full effects of some horrific or traumatic event by allowing
the mind to forget or remove itself from the painful situation or memory.
- DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS have the essential feature of a disruption in the usually integrated
functions of your consciousness, memory, identity or environmental perception.