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The Diagnostic Spectrum of Trauma-Related Disorders

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Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders

Abstract

Classifying mental disorders, including traumatic stress disorders, in psychiatry has often been difficult because of the need to discriminate between normal and abnormal states. This situation is particularly difficult in the context of posttraumatic presentations because stress responses are common, and it raises issues of where a line should be drawn between normative reaction and disorder. This chapter reviews the current status of diagnostic systems for describing posttraumatic stress conditions. There has been much activity in this space in recent years because the major diagnostic systems have been undergoing significant reviews and modifications. In this context, this chapter reviews the current status of the major conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD, acute stress disorder (ASD), acute stress reaction (ASR) and prolonged grief disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Richard A. Bryant PhD

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Ulrich Schnyder

  2. Dissemination & Training Division, National Center for PTSD, San Franciso, California, USA

    Marylène Cloitre

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Bryant, R.A. (2015). The Diagnostic Spectrum of Trauma-Related Disorders. In: Schnyder, U., Cloitre, M. (eds) Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07109-1_6

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