PTSD - Exam 4

Question 1

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) definition

Answer 1

develops after a person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury
***the person must have also experienced intense fear, helplessness/lack of control, or horror

Question 2

PTSD criteria (according to the DSM)

Answer 2

• INTRUSIVE SYMPTOMS
• AVOIDANCE OF REMINDERS
• NEGATIVE ALTERATIONS IN COGNITION/MOOD
• INCREASED REACTIVITY
• **everyone’s experience is different
  ex: military folx may associate trash/piles of rubble with IEDs/explosions

Question 3

“Intrusive Symptoms” Explanation

Answer 3

dreams, vivid memories, distress to reminders

Question 4

“Avoidance of Reminders” Explanation

Answer 4

internal (memories) and/or external (places/situations/objects) reminders

Question 5

“Negative Alterations in Cognition/Mood” Explanation

Answer 5

exaggerated (-) thoughts/beliefs/emotions around the trauma // amnesia of the event

Question 6

“Increased Reactivity” Explanation

Answer 6

exaggerated startle response, irritability, hyper-vigilance

Question 7

PTSD Prevalence

Answer 7

• lower than anxiety disorders (~8.5%)
• women are more likely to develop PTSD
• rates highest among veterans & those likely to be exposed to trauma at work (cops, firefighters, etc.)
• Highest rates found in survivors of: rape, military combat/POWs, and genocide
• Higher rates in POCs (black, latinx, & Native American people)

Question 8

Trauma experience v PTSD percentages?

Answer 8

10-30% retain PTSD
15-35% recover from PTSD
35-55% are resilient

Question 9

Methods of Treatment for PTSD and Phobias

Answer 9

• exposure therapy
• systematic desensitization (for phobias)
• prolonged exposure (for PTSD)

Question 10

What is exposure therapy?

Answer 10

since PTSD and phobias involve avoidance, this course of treatment exposes them to what they avoid

Question 11

Systematic Desensitization definition

Answer 11

behavior therapy using a P/C technique that pairs the slow, systematic exposure to anxiety-inducing situations with relaxation training

Question 12

Systematic Desensitization explanation

Answer 12

• developed by Joseph Wolpe
• meant to treat people who respond to specific stimulus situations with excessive anxiety/phobic fear
• this method must proceed slowly/systematically (don’t stop, keep going, be persistent)
• effective for phobias

Question 13

What does Prolonged Exposure involve?

Answer 13

• education about trauma: explain their symptoms, etc.
• breathing exercises
• in-vivo exposure: real-world practice with situations that may trigger their PTSD
• imaginal exposure: talking through the trauma

[takes time, similar to systematic desensitization in that way]