PTSD

Physical trauma

an accident, self-inflicted damage, or violence perpetrated by others

Psychological trauma

emotional injury caused by an overwhelmingly stressful event that threatens one’s survival and sense of security

Resilience

• capacity to withstand stress and catastrophe!

• positive self-concept & self-worth contribute and must be fostered from a young age

PTSD

• exposure to an actual or threatened traumatic event (direct, witnessed, learned about, repeated exposure)

• symptoms develop within days and persist for at least 30 days

• diagnostic criteria: intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal, hypervigilance, dissociation

Intrusion

• involuntary appearance of thoughts, memories, or dreams of traumatic event that cause psychological and physical distress

• flashbacks

Avoidance

• numbing — person stops feeling/experiencing pos and neg emotions

• avoid reminders of event

• trauma can be so severe that they don’t remember certain events

Hyperarousal and hypervigilance

• sympathetic nervous system engaged constantly (fight/flight)

• vital signs elevated

• constantly feel unsafe, startle easily, get to a point where they don’t trust anyone

• sleep poorly

Derealization

dissociative symptom characterized by detachment from the environment

Depersonalization

dissociative symptom characterized by detachment from self

Disengagement

• dissociative symptom characterized by “spacing out”

• mild form of dissociation

PTSD in children

• unusually clingy

• bedwetting

• forgetting/inability to talk

• acting out event

PTSD in adolescents

• destructive, disrespectful, disruptive behavior

• guilt

• revenge

SSRIs

• Sertraline, Paroxetine

• treat symptoms like sadness, worry, anger, numbness

Alpha 1 Inhibitors

• Prazosin

• treat nightmares and improve sleep (this decreases symptoms!)

Psychodynamic psychotherapy

type of talk therapy that explores how experiences, unconscious thoughts, etc. shape the present

Exposure therapy

• form of CBT

• re-exposure, baby steps

• helps ppl face/control fear in safe way

• writing, mental imagery, visit location & feel safe, virtual reality

Cognitive restructuring therapy

• form of CBT

• make sense of bad memories by reframing their experience and bring reality to it

Cognitive processing therapy

• form of CBT

• understand why recovery has been difficult and understand how it impacts daily life

• addresses the “why”

Stress inoculation training

• form of CBT

• teaches how to reduce anxiety and helps client look at memories in a healthy way

Acute stress disorder

disorder like PTSD except that it’s resolved w/in 1 month of the traumatic event

Reactive attachment disorder

• disorder in which child is inhibited

• emotionally withdrawn behavior toward adult caregiver

Disinhibited social engagement disorder

disorder in which child is overly familiar w/ others in ways uncharacteristic of cultural norms