Psychological Disorders: Adjustment, PTSD, Dissociative Disorders & Treatments

What is an adjustment disorder?

A condition where a person has an emotional or behavioral response to a known stressor that is greater than expected.

When do symptoms of adjustment disorder typically appear?

Within 3 months of the stressor.

What is the expected outcome if the stressor improves in adjustment disorder?

Symptoms should dissipate within 6 months.

What are the five specific types of adjustment disorder?

With depressed mood, with anxiety, with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, with disturbance of conduct, and with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct.

What percentage of those diagnosed with adjustment disorder receive medication?

74 percent.

What characterizes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

A pathological response to trauma that includes re-experiencing the trauma, negative mood changes, and chronic arousal.

What are some types of trauma that may lead to PTSD?

Actual or threatened death, serious injury, sexual violence, military combat, and natural disasters.

How long must PTSD symptoms last for a diagnosis?

More than 30 days.

What are the categories of PTSD symptoms?

Re-experiencing events, avoidance behaviors, negative changes in thoughts and mood, and hypervigilance and chronic arousal.

What is acute stress disorder?

A diagnosis when PTSD symptoms have not persisted for 30 days.

What is required for a diagnosis of acute stress disorder?

9 of 14 symptoms from categories of intrusion, negative mood, dissociative, avoidance, and/or arousal.

What role does the HPA axis play in trauma and stress-related disorders?

It is activated, releasing hormones and neurotransmitters that contribute to stress responses.

What is the first-line treatment for PTSD?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?

A disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities within one person.

What is dissociative amnesia?

A loss of memory of important personal information that exceeds typical forgetting processes.

What is depersonalization-derealization disorder?

A condition where a person feels cut off from their own body or experiences a sense of unreality and detachment from the world.

What is the common experience in dissociative disorders?

A sudden loss of integration of consciousness, identity, or memory, often in response to trauma.

What is a rare example of dissociative amnesia?

Dissociative fugue, where a person loses their identity and travels away to restart their life.

What is the main controversy surrounding Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Some argue its existence as a valid diagnosis.

What are common symptoms of dissociative states?

Patients often describe 'zoning out' or diverting awareness from painful memories or feelings.

What is the role of genetics in PTSD?

Genetics may influence the functioning of the body's stress response, including the HPA axis.

What types of CBT are used for PTSD?

Emotional processing theory, prolonged exposure (PE), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and cognitive processing therapy (CPT).