POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER - AN OVERVIEW

This introductory paper for the Special Series on Post-traumatic Stres s Disorder (PTSD) provides an overview of the psychological literature on chronic PTSD. We describe the symptoms of PTSD, the common associa ted features of the disorder, and common themes in the clinical presen tation of traumatized individuals. Epidemiological studies are reviewe d that reveal the widespread occurrence of potentially traumatizing ev ents and the prevalence of PTSD among traumatized populations. We next provide an overview of psychological assessment procedures. This is f ollowed by a description of three psychological theories of PTSD that have received a good deal of attention along with their implications f or treatment. Two of the most widely applied treatments of PTSD are ne xt reviewed in some detail: direct therapeutic exposure therapy and st ress management approaches. Finally, we introduce the six papers that follow in the series in the context of a brief discussion of direction s for future research in the field of chronic PTSD.