Monday, April 27, 2015

Towards a comprehensive model of trauma

This article, Towards a comprehensive model of trauma is a synthesis of my MA thesis, hope you enjoy it. Here is an excerpt:


Currently, a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis is the closest thing there is to a trauma diagnosis. However, PTSD criteria do not cover the entire range of trauma-based symptoms and conditions (Dansie et al., 2012; Hall, 2000). The reality is that many people suffering with trauma do not qualify for a PTSD diagnosis, and are instead diagnosed with different disorders based on the symptoms they display, not on their etiology (D’Andrea, Ford, Stolbach, Spinazzola, & van der Kolk, 2012; Haven, 2009; Herman, 1992; McFarlane, 2010; Sledjeski, Speisman, & Dierker, 2008; van der Kolk, 1994). Reducing or containing various symptoms, without first locating and addressing their cause, often results in inaccurate and multiple diagnoses. This prolongs unnecessary suffering, usually leads to retraumatisation, is time consuming and wasteful of scarce resources. Therefore improved classification of disorders according to etiology is very much warranted. Read on 


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