Clinical treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: conceptual challengesraised by recent research

Objective: This paper highlights some of the recent findings in the field o f posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and examines their impact on concept ions of trauma-focused clinical treatment. Method: A series of research findings in the area of epidemiology, phenomen ology, neurobiology and treatment are summarised. Results: The findings from these studies present critical challenges for cl inicians who wish to treat trauma survivors using specialised trauma treatm ents, The major challenge is one of avoiding a simplistic view of PTSD as a singular response to trauma, as this perception may result in an underesti mation of the complexity and disabling quality of the disorder, and lead to the formulation of treatment plans that are simplistic or incomplete. Conclusions: A more precise characterisation of the nature and range of the stress responses of trauma victims will significantly improve treatments o f trauma survivors.