Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Defined, Described, Detailed and Debated

There has been a movement in our society at large of disconnection from the extended family, from long-term friendships, from lifetime careers, and even from community and neighborhood. As a result, we have experienced less attachment and greater capacity for boundary violation and amoral behavior. The statistics for child abuse and sexual assault are alarming and, as a result, there has been a much more pervasive experience of trauma by individuals, as well as within local and global communities. Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderThe increase in terrorism and the continued insertion of troops into foreign wars has caused a widespread experience of trauma and, subsequently, the diagnosis of PTSD has escalated exponentially. But what if the experience by so many in our culture is not something to pathologize, but to appreciate and to alter how we cope with the disintegration of our intimate and extended communities? Given the evidence, what is PTSD really? Throughout the last hundred years, how clinicians have applied the diagnosis of PTSD has evolved significantly: it was initially used to describe purely combat-related sequelae, then became a more generalized account of the impacts of trauma experienced in “every day” situations (e.g., domestic violence, muggings, workplace harassment), and is now an expansive depiction of how all of us are affected by the terrorism in our time. But what about the future of PTSD? In DSM-5, Criterion A significantly changed, eliminating certain criteria and rewording others. How will this affect our understanding of our clients with current PTSD diagnosis and how we treat them?

This PTSD course is one of the most comprehensive explorations of this diagnostic category and the treatment available for the symptoms of PTSD. Through the review of 58 online articles by groundbreakers in the movement (such as Dan Siegel and Francine Shapiro) to understand and treat PTSD, you will not only gain expansive knowledge about the diagnosis and its etiology, but will also learn about the most effective psychotherapeutic and integrative strategies to manage this disorder, as well as the medications currently in use to treat the symptoms of PTSD. The course provides foundational information from Attachment Theory and Interpersonal Neurobiology, as well as creative treatments and therapies such as EMDR. Further, you will be exposed to criticism and debate regarding the use of the label itself and can come to your own conclusions about whether or not PTSD is a useful diagnostic expression, or whether the symptoms that comprise and describe PTSD might simply be a natural response to the increasing traumatic nature of our lives in today’s world. Transcript is provided for the MP3. Additional resources and references are provided for further study, but they are not part of the course.

Disclaimer: This course is purely educational and does not intend to serve as a license (or permission) to mental health professionals to prescribe or practice any of the approaches discussed in this course unless they fall within the scope of practice of your profession. Check with your licensing board about the scope of practice of your profession to make sure you practice within that scope. It also does not serve as a permission to title yourself in any specific way.