Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder
Patient Teaching Project
Erica, Rebecca, Molly, Shannon

What is PTSD?
PTSD is an anxiety
disorder that can happen
after people experience a
trauma. Trauma can
include physical injury or
severe mental or
emotional distress.

Causes of PTSD
PTSD as with most mental illness is most likely
caused by a complex mix of
Inherited mental health risks: increase risk
of anxiety and depression
Life experiences, including the amount and
severity of trauma you have gone through
Personality Characteristics

Living through or seeing something that is

upsetting and or dangerous
Death or serious illness of a loved one
War or Combat
Car accidents and plane crashes
Natural Disasters

Signs and
Symptoms

o Reliving the trauma

through memories of the
event
o Reoccurring nightmares
o Severe emotional
distress
o Avoiding certain places
or people that are
reminders of the

PTSD Struggles: Flashbacks &

Dissociation
Flashback re-experiencing the symptoms of PTSD
Like its happening all over again.

Dissociation affected person feels disconnected

from self/surroundings
Occasionally out-of-the-blue
Know early warning signs (i.e. things look fuzzy)

More often: cued by a reminder, or trigger.

Know your triggers!

Anything that brings about a symptom of PTSD.
Examples:
Reminiscing about a certain period of time
(i.e. wartime, childhood)
Going to a certain place (i.e. a childhood home,
scene of trauma, location of natural disaster)
Hearing a certain sound/noise (i.e. fireworks, gunfire)
Seeing certain people
Certain smells

PTSD Coping Strategies

Follow your treatment plan.
Allow time for therapeutic effects of meds.

Utilize grounding techniques to

connect with the here & now.
Take care of yourself.
sufficient rest, balanced diet, stress reduction, exercise
avoid caffeine, nicotine, EtOH, and recreational drugs
(RF increased anxiety)

Break the cycle!

Take a walk! Talk to someone!
Attend a support group.

Providing Support to a Family

Member with PTSD
Learn about PTSD
U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
Mayo Clinic: How can I help a loved one with post-traumatic str
ess?

Recognize that withdrawal is part of the disorder.

Provide judgement-free support:

Listen!
Encourage participation in supportive activities.
Offer to attend medical appointments.
Seek your own help if you need it you may have
a difficult time coping as well.

Treatment Options
Therapy

Medications

Cognitive Therapy

Antidepressants:
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors,
Tricyclic Antidepressants; Atypical
Antidepressants

Family Therapy

Mood Stabilizers

Group Therapy

Antipsychotics

Individual Therapy

Prazosin (Minipress): used to help with

nightmares

Evidence Based Practice

Evidence Based Treatment Modalities
Source: American Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan08/ptsd.aspx)
Several outstanding advances in treatment of PTSD.
Evidence so far: exposure therapies are most effective in treatment of PTSD
Prolonged-exposure Therapy (guided recall of traumatic memories)
Cognitive-processing Therapy (form of CBT)
Stress-inoculation training (teaching coping mechanisms)
Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
Medications (especially SSRIs)

Evidence-based assessment tools:

Source: Lippincott Nursing Center (
http://www.nursingcenter.com/CEArticle?an=00000446-201307000-00027&Journal_ID=54030&Issue_ID=1567483)
Enhancing Veteran-Centered Care: A Guide for Nurses in Non-VA Settings (from the American Journal of Nursing)
Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297500/) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence-Based Research for the
Third Millenium
Davidson Trauma Scale
Distressing Event Questionnaire
Impact of Event Scale
Trauma Symptom Checklist
Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale
Trauma Symptom Inventory

IMPORTANT EBP POINT: Overall, EVIDENCE shows that cognitive behavior approaches coupled with SSRIs tend to be most
effective in treatment of many types of PTSD (i.e. from various etiologies).

Let us Review
1. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that
occurs after experiencing trauma.
2. PTSD is caused by a complex mix of inherited mental health
risks, life experiences, including the amount and severity of
trauma you have gone through, personality characteristics
and living through something that is upsetting and or
dangerous such as war or natural disasters.
3. Signs and symptoms include: Avoidance of the traumatic
event, intrusive memories and intense feelings of anger, fear,
sadness or worry.
4. PTSD is not your fault and you are not alone!
5. Evidence demonstrates that cognitive behavior approaches
coupled with SSRIs tend to be most effective in treatment of
many types of PTSD (i.e. from various etiologies).