Cases in Psychology Psychological Disorders—Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Information detailing the effects of traumatic experiences and the concept of trauma-related emotional disturbance has a long history. The current conception of PTSD is reflected in the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000) definition. This stipulates that a ‘traumatic event ’ must meet two conditions: that (i) the person must have experienced or witnessed a physically-threatening event and (ii) responded to that event with a sense of fear, helplessness or horror. The diagnosis of PTSD (DSM-IV) includes six criteria (see Table 1). The first criterion (Criterion A) is the qualifying trauma. Criterion B relates to re-experiencing the trauma (i.e. intrusive memories, nightmares and distress on exposure to reminders). Criterion C refers to two types of avoidance; active avoidance (i.e., effortful avoidance of reminders of the trauma) and passive avoidance (i.e., a non-effortful numbing of general responsiveness). Criterion D refers to symptoms of hyperarousal such as difficulties sleeping, hypervigilance and irritability. The symptoms in B, C and D must be present for a least one-month before a diagnosis can be made, with the duration criterion (E) specifying how long the symptoms have persisted. Finally the F criterion, which relates to functional significance, specifies that the individual must experience significant social, occupational, or other distress as a result of these symptoms