Assignment: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

It is estimated that more almost 7% of the U.S. population will experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). This debilitating disorder often interferes with an individual’s ability to function in daily life. Common symptoms of anxiousness and depression frequently lead to behavioral issues, adolescent substance abuse issues, and even physical ailments. For this Assignment, you examine a PTSD video case study and consider how you might assess and treat clients presenting with PTSD.

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide about diagnosing and treating PTSD.
• View the media Presentation Example: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and assess the client in the case study.
• For guidance on assessing the client, refer to Chapter 3 of the Wheeler text.

Note: To complete this Assignment, you must assess the client, but you are not required to submit a formal comprehensive client assessment.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Succinctly, in 1–2 pages, address the following:

• Briefly explain the neurobiological basis for PTSD illness.
• Discuss the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for PTSD and relate these criteria to the symptomology presented in the case study. Does the video case presentation provide sufficient information to derive a PTSD diagnosis? Justify your reasoning. Do you agree with the other diagnoses in the case presentation? Why or why not?
• Discuss one other psychotherapy treatment option for the client in this case study. Explain whether your treatment option is considered a “gold standard treatment” from a clinical practice guideline perspective, and why using gold standard, evidence-based treatments from clinical practice guidelines is important for psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners.

Support your Assignment with specific examples from this week’s media and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.

Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?u…

• “Culture and Psychiatric Diagnosis”

American Psychiatric Association. (2017). Clinical practice guideline of PTSD. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/userfiles/files/SAMHSA_T…
Credit: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014.

Tye, S., Van Voorhees, E., Hu, C., & Lineberry, T. (2015). Preclinical perspectives on posttraumatic stress disorder criteria in DSM-5. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 23(1), 51–58. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC45420…
Credit: Preclinical Perspectives on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Criteria in DSM-5 by Susannah Tye, PhD, Elizabeth Van Voorhees, PhD, Chunling Hu, MD, PhD, and Timothy Lineberry, MD, in HARVARD REVIEW OF PSYCHIATRY, Vol. 23/Issue 1. Copyright 2015 by ROUTLEDGE. Reprinted by permission of ROUTLEDGE via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Wheeler, K. (Ed.). (2020). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing.

• Chapter 3, “Assessment and Diagnosis” (Previously read in Week 2)
• Chapter 7, “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy”
• Chapter 11, “Trauma Resiliency Model Therapy”
• Chapter 15, “Trauma-Informed Medication Management”
• Chapter 17, “Stabilization for Trauma and Dissociation”
• Chapter 18, “Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Complex Trauma”

Required Media (click to expand/reduce)

 

Grande, T. (2019, August 21). Presentation example: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkSv_zPH-M4

Gift from Within. (Producer). (2008). PTSD and veterans: A conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg [Video]. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?u…

Know & Grow with Dr. K. (2021, July 18). Does your child suffer from post traumatic stress disorder? (Strictly Medical-English Version). [Video]. YouTube.