Trauma/Stressor-Related, Dissociative, and Somatic Symptom Disorders Flashcards
Which of the following is likely to be the least effective treatment for an adult with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
A. cognitive behavioral therapy
B. psychological debriefing
C. cognitive processing therapy
D. prolonged exposure therapy
Answer B is correct. The optimal treatments for PTSD are described in the American Psychological Association’s Clinical practice guideline for PTSD (https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/ptsd.pdf). It strongly recommends the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure therapy, or cognitive therapy for PTSD. It does not recommend psychological debriefing for this disorder and, in fact, there’s evidence that psychological debriefing can have harmful effects.
A six-year-old child of divorced parents experiences abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea whenever she stays with her mother but has no symptoms when she stays with her father or other relative. This situation is most suggestive of:
A. functional neurological symptom disorder.
B. malingering.
C. factitious disorder.
D. somatic symptom disorder.
Answer C is correct. Since the girl’s symptoms occur only when she’s residing with her mother, the most likely diagnosis of those given in the answers is factitious disorder imposed on another.
The intentional production of physical or psychological symptoms for the purpose of obtaining an external reward is suggestive of which of the following?
A. factitious disorder
B. malingering
C. malingering and factitious disorder
D. factitious disorder and conversion disorder
Answer B is correct. Of the disorders listed in the answers, only malingering involves intentionally producing physical or psychological symptoms for the purpose of obtaining an external reward.
Neuroimaging studies have linked PTSD to:
A. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala
B. increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala
C. decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and increased activity in the amygdala
D. increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and decreased activity in the amygdala.
Answer C is correct. PTSD has been linked it several brain abnormalities including a hypoactive ventromedial prefrontal cortex and a hyperactive amygdala.
Five-year-old Debbie is brought to therapy by her foster parents who say that, even though she’s been living with them for over three years, she hasn’t formed an attachment to either of them. The foster parents tell you that Debbie doesn’t seek comfort from them when she’s distressed, doesn’t respond to interactions with people with happiness or enjoyment, and often becomes fearful or irritable when interacting with people for no apparent reason. To confirm a DSM-5 diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder for Debbie, you would want to confirm that her symptoms:
A. are related to pre-, peri-, or postnatal complications.
B. are related to extreme insufficient care.
C. began before age 5 and that Debbie has a developmental age of at least 12 months.
D. began before age 7 and that Debbie has a developmental age of at least nine months.
Answer B is correct. For the diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder, an individual must have a history of extreme insufficient care that’s believed to be responsible for his/her symptoms, have had symptoms prior to age five, and have a developmental age of at least nine months.
To assign a DSM-5-TR diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), symptoms must have a duration of more than:
A. seven days for adults and adolescents and 14 days for children.
B. 14 days for adults, adolescents, and children.
C. one month for adults and adolescents and two months for children.
D. one month for adults, adolescents, and children.
Answer D is correct. The diagnosis of PTSD requires the presence of symptoms for more than one month for individuals of all ages.
A DSM-5-TR diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder requires the presence of one or more somatic symptoms that are:
A. accompanied by excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to the symptoms.
B. being intentionally produced, faked, or exaggerated in terms of severity.
C. related to exposure to a traumatic event.
D. incompatible with any known medical condition.
Answer A is correct. Somatic symptom disorder involves one or more symptoms that are distressing or cause a significant disruption in daily life and are accompanied by excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are related to the symptoms or associated health concerns.
