Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Analysis

One disorder I learned about, not only in our studies this semester, but during the course of my military career, is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the text, PTSD is “a psychological disorder characterized by exposure to or being threatened by an event involving death, serious injury, or sexual violence; can include disturbing memories, nightmares, flashbacks, and other distressing symptoms” (502). While there are a number of factors that contribute to a person experiencing the disorder, the development of PTSD is most common after specific types of trauma, such as combat or sexual assault. Furthermore, as revealed in the article “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Overview of Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment” in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, “PTSD can also develop from repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of traumatic events…”; the article also reports that PTSD is “among the most common mental health disorders in the United States.” There are several websites that offer an explanation of PTSD, the causes, and the treatment methods. One website in particular is: …show more content…
Evidence based treatment plans integrate the evidence found during research of the disorder with the eventual clinical care provided. According to the Journal of Clinical Medicine, in the PTSD article referenced above, experimental research “provides a strong case that PTSD is rooted in both biological and psychological underpinnings.” There are several “evidence based treatment” options available, such as psychosocial interventions, cognitive-based therapies, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and evidence-based pharmacological treatments. Of these treatment options, I found the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy fascinating. The following excerpt is from the PTSD article in the Journal of Clinical

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