Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD, sometimes hyphenated C-PTSD) is a stress-related mental disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas,[1] i.e., commonly prolonged or repetitive exposures to a series of traumatic events, within which individuals perceive little or no chance to escape.[2][3][4]
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) | |
---|---|
Other names | Disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS), enduring personality change after catastrophic experience (EPCACE) |
Potential causes of complex post-traumatic stress disorder | |
Specialty | Psychiatry, clinical psychology |
Symptoms | Hyperarousal, emotional over-stress, intrusive thoughts, emotional dysregulation, hypervigilance, negative self-beliefs, interpersonal difficulties, and also often attention difficulties, anxiety, depression, somatization, dissociation |
In the ICD-11 classification, C-PTSD is a category of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with three additional clusters of significant symptoms: emotional dysregulation, negative self-beliefs (e.g., feelings of shame, guilt, failure for wrong reasons), and interpersonal difficulties.[5][6][3] Examples of C-PTSD's symptoms are prolonged feelings of terror, worthlessness, helplessness, distortions in identity or sense of self, and hypervigilance.[5][6][3] C-PTSD's symptoms share some similarities with the observed symptoms in borderline personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and somatization disorder.[4][6]
History
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2024) |
Judith Lewis Herman of Harvard University was the first psychiatrist and scholar to conceptualise Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) as a (new) mental health condition in 1992, within her book Trauma & Recovery and an accompanying article.[4][7]
In 1988, Herman suggested that a new diagnosis of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) was needed to describe the symptoms and psychological and emotional effects of long-term trauma.
Classifications
editThe World Health Organization (WHO)'s International Statistical Classification of Diseases has included CPTSD since its eleventh revision that was published in 2018 and came into effect in 2022 (ICD-11). The previous edition (ICD-10) proposed a diagnosis of Enduring Personality Change after Catastrophic Event (EPCACE), which was an ancestor of CPTSD.[3][2][8] Healthdirect Australia (HDA) and the British National Health Service (NHS) have also acknowledged CPTSD as mental disorder.[9][10] However, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has not included CPTSD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It has nonetheless proposed: Disorders of Extreme Stress – not otherwise specified (DESNOS) since the DSM-IV, which is a mental disorder close to CPTSD.[11][2]
Symptoms
editChildren and adolescents
editThe diagnosis of PTSD was originally given to adults who had suffered because of a single-event trauma (e.g., during a war, rape).[12] However, the situation for many children is quite different. Children can suffer chronic trauma such as maltreatment, family violence, dysfunction, or a disruption in attachment to their primary caregiver.[13] In many cases, it is the child's caregiver who causes the trauma.[12] The diagnosis of PTSD does not take into account how the developmental stages of children may affect their symptoms and how trauma can affect a child's development.[12][14]
The term developmental trauma disorder (DTD) has been proposed as the childhood equivalent of CPTSD.[13] This developmental form of trauma places children at risk for developing psychiatric and medical disorders.[13][14] Bessel van der Kolk explains DTD as numerous encounters with interpersonal trauma such as physical assault, sexual assault, violence or death. It can also be brought on by subjective events such as abandonment, betrayal, defeat or shame.[15]
Repeated traumatization during childhood leads to symptoms that differ from those described for PTSD.[15] Cook and others describe symptoms and behavioral characteristics in seven domains:[16][1]
- Attachment – problems with relationship boundaries, lack of trust, social isolation, difficulty perceiving and responding to others' emotional states
- Biomedical symptoms – sensory-motor developmental dysfunction, sensory-integration difficulties; increased medical problems or even somatization
- Affect or emotional regulation – poor affect regulation, difficulty identifying and expressing emotions and internal states, and difficulties communicating needs, wants, and wishes
- Elements of dissociation – amnesia, depersonalization, discrete states of consciousness with discrete memories, affect, and functioning, and impaired memory for state-based events
- Behavioral control – problems with impulse control, aggression, pathological self-soothing, and sleep problems
- Cognition – difficulty regulating attention; problems with a variety of executive functions such as planning, judgment, initiation, use of materials, and self-monitoring; difficulty processing new information; difficulty focusing and completing tasks; poor object constancy; problems with cause-effect thinking; and language developmental problems such as a gap between receptive and expressive communication abilities.
- Self-concept – fragmented and/or disconnected autobiographical narrative, disturbed body image, low self-esteem, excessive shame, and negative internal working models of self.
Adults
editAdults with CPTSD have sometimes experienced prolonged interpersonal traumatization beginning in childhood, rather than, or as well as, in adulthood. These early injuries interrupt the development of a robust sense of self and of others. Because physical and emotional pain or neglect was often inflicted by attachment figures such as caregivers or other siblings, these individuals may develop a sense that they are fundamentally flawed and that others cannot be relied upon.[7][17] This can become a pervasive way of relating to others in adult life, described as insecure attachment. This symptom is neither included in the diagnosis of dissociative disorder nor in that of PTSD in the current DSM-5 (2013). Individuals with Complex PTSD also demonstrate lasting personality disturbances with a significant risk of revictimization.[18]
Six clusters of symptoms have been suggested for diagnosis of CPTSD:[19][20]
- Alterations in regulation of affect and impulses
- Alterations in attention or consciousness
- Alterations in self-perception
- Alterations in relations with others
- Somatization[2][3]
- Alterations in systems of meaning[20]
Experiences in these areas may include:[4]: 199–122
- Changes in emotional regulation, including experiences such as persistent dysphoria, chronic suicidal preoccupation, self-injury, explosive or extremely inhibited anger (may alternate), and compulsive or extremely inhibited sexuality (may alternate).
- Variations in consciousness, such as amnesia or improved recall for traumatic events, episodes of dissociation, depersonalization/derealization, and reliving experiences (either in the form of intrusive PTSD symptoms or in ruminative preoccupation).[21]
- Changes in self-perception, such as a sense of helplessness or paralysis of initiative, shame, guilt and self-blame, a sense of defilement or stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings (may include a sense of specialness, utter aloneness, a belief that no other person can understand, or a feeling of nonhuman identity).
- Varied changes in perception of the perpetrators, such as a preoccupation with the relationship with a perpetrator (including a preoccupation with revenge), an unrealistic attribution of total power to a perpetrator (though the individual's assessment may be more realistic than the clinician's), idealization or paradoxical gratitude, a sense of a special or supernatural relationship with a perpetrator, and acceptance of a perpetrator's belief system or rationalizations.
- Alterations in relations with others, such as isolation and withdrawal, disruption in intimate relationships, a repeated search for a rescuer (may alternate with isolation and withdrawal), persistent distrust, and repeated failures of self-protection.
- Changes in systems of meaning, such as a loss of sustaining faith and a sense of hopelessness and despair.
Diagnosis
editCPTSD was considered for inclusion in the DSM-IV but was excluded from the 1994 publication.[4] It was also excluded from the DSM-5, which lists post-traumatic stress disorder.[22] The ICD-11 has included CPTSD since its initial publication in 2018 and an official psychometrics exists for assessing the ICD-11 CPTSD,[2] which is the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ).[23]
Differential diagnosis
editPost-traumatic stress disorder
editPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was included in the DSM-III (1980), mainly due to the relatively large numbers of American combat veterans of the Vietnam War who were seeking treatment for the lingering effects of combat stress. In the 1980s, various researchers and clinicians suggested that PTSD might also accurately describe the sequelae of such traumas as child sexual abuse and domestic abuse.[24] However, it was soon suggested that PTSD failed to account for the cluster of symptoms that were often observed in cases of prolonged abuse, particularly that which was perpetrated against children by caregivers during multiple childhood and adolescent developmental stages. Such patients were often extremely difficult to treat with established methods.[24]
PTSD descriptions fail to capture some of the core characteristics of CPTSD. These elements include captivity, psychological fragmentation, the loss of a sense of safety, trust, and self-worth, as well as the tendency to be revictimized. Most importantly, there is a loss of a coherent sense of self: this loss, and the ensuing symptom profile, most pointedly differentiates CPTSD from PTSD.[4]: 199–122
CPTSD is also characterized by attachment disorder, particularly the pervasive insecure, or disorganized-type attachment.[25] DSM-IV (1994) dissociative disorders and PTSD do not include insecure attachment in their criteria. As a consequence of this aspect of CPTSD, when some adults with CPTSD become parents and confront their own children's attachment needs, they may have particular difficulty in responding sensitively especially to their infants' and young children's routine distress — such as during routine separations, despite these parents' best intentions and efforts.[26]: 123–149 Although the great majority of survivors do not abuse others,[27] this difficulty in parenting may have adverse repercussions for their children's social and emotional development if parents with this condition and their children do not receive appropriate treatment.[28][29]
Thus, a differentiation between the diagnostic category of CPTSD and that of PTSD has been suggested. PTSD can exist alongside CPTSD; however a sole diagnosis of PTSD often does not sufficiently encapsulate the breadth of symptoms experienced by those who have experienced prolonged traumatic experience, and therefore CPTSD extends beyond the PTSD parameters.[7]
Continuous traumatic stress disorder (CTSD), which was introduced into the trauma literature by Gill Straker in 1987,[30] differs from CPTSD.[citation needed][how?] It was originally used by South African clinicians to describe the effects of exposure to frequent, high levels of violence usually associated with civil conflict and political repression. The term is applicable to the effects of exposure to contexts in which gang violence and crime are endemic as well as to the effects of ongoing exposure to life threats in high-risk occupations such as police, fire and emergency services. It has also been used to describe ongoing relationship trauma frequently experienced by people leaving relationships which involved intimate partner violence.[31]
Traumatic grief
editTraumatic grief[32][33][34][35] or complicated mourning[36] are conditions[37] where trauma and grief coincide. There are conceptual links between trauma and bereavement since loss of a loved one is inherently traumatic.[38] If a traumatic event was life-threatening, but did not result in a death, then it is more likely that the survivor will experience post-traumatic stress symptoms. If a person dies, and the survivor was close to the person who died, then it is more likely that symptoms of grief will also develop. When the death is of a loved one, and was sudden or violent, then both symptoms often coincide. This is likely in children exposed to community violence.[39][40]
For CPTSD to manifest traumatic grief, the violence would occur under conditions of captivity, loss of control and disempowerment, coinciding with the death of a friend or loved one in life-threatening circumstances. This again is most likely for children and stepchildren who experience prolonged domestic or chronic community violence that ultimately results in the death of friends and loved ones. The phenomenon of the increased risk of violence and death of stepchildren is referred to as the Cinderella effect.
Borderline personality disorder
editCPTSD may share some symptoms with both PTSD and borderline personality disorder (BPD).[41] However, there is enough evidence to also differentiate CPTSD from borderline personality disorder.
It may help to understand the intersection of attachment theory with CPTSD and BPD if one reads the following opinion of Bessel A. van der Kolk together with an understanding drawn from a description of BPD:
Uncontrollable disruptions or distortions of attachment bonds precede the development of post-traumatic stress syndromes. People seek increased attachment in the face of danger. Adults, as well as children, may develop strong emotional ties with people who intermittently harass, beat, and, threaten them. The persistence of these attachment bonds leads to confusion of pain and love. Trauma can be repeated on behavioural, emotional, physiologic, and neuroendocrinologic levels. Repetition on these different levels causes a large variety of individual and social suffering.
25% of those diagnosed with BPD have no known history of childhood neglect or abuse and individuals are six times as likely to develop BPD if they have a relative who was diagnosed so[citation needed] compared to those who do not. One conclusion is that there is a genetic predisposition to BPD unrelated to trauma. Researchers conducting a longitudinal investigation of identical twins found that "genetic factors play a major role in individual differences of borderline personality disorder features in Western society."[42] A 2014 study published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology was able to compare and contrast CPTSD, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder and found that it could distinguish between individual cases of each and when it was co-morbid, arguing for a case of separate diagnoses for each.[43] BPD may be confused with CPTSD by some without proper knowledge of the two conditions because those with BPD also tend to have PTSD or to have some history of trauma.
In Trauma and Recovery, Herman expresses the additional concern that patients with CPTSD frequently risk being misunderstood as inherently 'dependent', 'masochistic', or 'self-defeating', comparing this attitude to the historical misdiagnosis of female hysteria.[4] However, those who develop CPTSD do so as a result of the intensity of the traumatic bond — in which someone becomes tightly biochemically bound to someone who abuses them and the responses they learned to survive, navigate and deal with the abuse they suffered then become automatic responses, embedded in their personality over the years of trauma — a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.[44]
Treatment
editWhile standard evidence-based treatments may be effective for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, treating complex PTSD often involves addressing interpersonal relational difficulties and a different set of symptoms which make it more challenging to treat.
Children
editThe utility of PTSD-derived psychotherapies for assisting children with CPTSD is uncertain. This area of diagnosis and treatment calls for caution in use of the category CPTSD. Julian Ford and Bessel van der Kolk have suggested that CPTSD may not be as useful a category for diagnosis and treatment of children as a proposed category of developmental trauma disorder (DTD).[45]: 60 According to Courtois and Ford, for DTD to be diagnosed it requires a
history of exposure to early life developmentally adverse interpersonal trauma such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, violence, traumatic losses or other significant disruption or betrayal of the child's relationships with primary caregivers, which has been postulated as an etiological basis for complex traumatic stress disorders. Diagnosis, treatment planning and outcome are always relational.[45]
Since CPTSD or DTD in children is often caused by chronic maltreatment, neglect or abuse in a care-giving relationship the first element of the biopsychosocial system to address is that relationship. This invariably involves some sort of child protection agency. This both widens the range of support that can be given to the child but also the complexity of the situation, since the agency's statutory legal obligations may then need to be enforced.
A number of practical, therapeutic and ethical principles for assessment and intervention have been developed and explored in the field:[45]: 67
- Identifying and addressing threats to the child's or family's safety and stability are the first priority.
- A relational bridge must be developed to engage, retain and maximize the benefit for the child and caregiver.
- Diagnosis, treatment planning and outcome monitoring are always relational (and) strengths based.
- All phases of treatment should aim to enhance self-regulation competencies.
- Determining with whom, when and how to address traumatic memories.
- Preventing and managing relational discontinuities and psychosocial crises.
Adults
editTrauma recovery model
editJudith Lewis Herman, in her book, Trauma and Recovery, proposed a complex trauma recovery model that occurs in three stages:
- Establishing safety
- Remembrance and mourning for what was lost
- Reconnecting with community and more broadly, society
Herman believes recovery can only occur within a healing relationship and only if the survivor is empowered by that relationship. This healing relationship need not be romantic or sexual in the colloquial sense of "relationship", however, and can also include relationships with friends, co-workers, one's relatives or children, and the therapeutic relationship.[4] However, the first stage of establishing safety must always include a thorough evaluation of the surroundings, which might include abusive relationships. This stage might involve the need for major life changes for some patients.[46]
Securing a safe environment requires strategic attention to the patient's economic and social ecosystem. The patient must become aware of her own resources for practical and emotional support as well as the realistic dangers and vulnerabilities in her social situation. Many patients are unable to move forward in their recovery because of their present involvement in unsafe or oppressive relationships. In order to gain their autonomy and their peace of mind, survivors may have to make difficult and painful life choices. Battered women may lose their homes, their friends, and their livelihood. Survivors of childhood abuse may lose their families. Political refugees may lose their homes and their homeland. The social obstacles to recovery are not generally recognized, but they must be identified and adequately addressed in order for recovery to proceed.[46]
Complex trauma means complex reactions and this leads to complex treatments.[citation needed] Hence, treatment for CPTSD requires a multi-modal approach.[1]
It has been suggested that treatment for complex PTSD should differ from treatment for PTSD by focusing on problems that cause more functional impairment than the PTSD symptoms. These problems include emotional dysregulation, dissociation, and interpersonal problems.[25] Six suggested core components of complex trauma treatment include:[1]
- Safety
- Self-regulation
- Self-reflective information processing
- Traumatic experiences integration
- Relational engagement
- Positive affect enhancement
The above components can be conceptualized as a model with three phases. Not every case will be the same, but the first of phase will emphasize the acquisition and strengthening of adequate coping strategies as well as addressing safety issues and concerns. The next phase would focus on decreasing avoidance of traumatic stimuli and applying coping skills learned in phase one. The care provider may also begin challenging assumptions about the trauma and introducing alternative narratives about the trauma. The final phase would consist of solidifying what has previously been learned and transferring these strategies to future stressful events.[47]
Neuroscientific and trauma informed interventions
editIn practice, the forms of treatment and intervention varies from individual to individual since there is a wide spectrum of childhood experiences of developmental trauma and symptomatology and not all survivors respond positively, uniformly, to the same treatment. Therefore, treatment is generally tailored to the individual.[48] Recent neuroscientific research has shed some light on the impact that severe childhood abuse and neglect (trauma) has on a child's developing brain, specifically as it relates to the development in brain structures, function and connectivity among children from infancy to adulthood. This understanding of the neurophysiological underpinning of complex trauma phenomena is what currently is referred to in the field of traumatology as 'trauma informed' which has become the rationale which has influenced the development of new treatments specifically targeting those with childhood developmental trauma.[49][50] Martin Teicher, a Harvard psychiatrist and researcher, has suggested that the development of specific complex trauma related symptomatology (and in fact the development of many adult onset psychopathologies) may be connected to gender differences and at what stage of childhood development trauma, abuse or neglect occurred.[49] For example, it is well established that the development of dissociative identity disorder among women is often associated with early childhood sexual abuse.
Use of evidence-based treatment and its limitations
editOne of the current challenges faced by many survivors of complex trauma (or developmental trauma disorder) is support for treatment since many of the current therapies are relatively expensive and not all forms of therapy or intervention are reimbursed by insurance companies who use evidence-based practice as a criterion for reimbursement. Cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy are well established forms of evidence-based intervention. These treatments are approved and endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association and the Veteran's Administration.
While standard evidence-based treatments may be effective for treating standard post-traumatic stress disorder, treating complex PTSD often involves addressing interpersonal relational difficulties and a different set of symptoms which make it more challenging to treat.
For example, "Limited evidence suggests that predominantly cognitive behavioral therapy treatments are effective, but do not suffice to achieve satisfactory end states, especially in Complex PTSD populations."[51]
Treatment challenges
editIt is widely acknowledged by those who work in the trauma field that there is no one single, standard, 'one size fits all' treatment for complex PTSD.[citation needed] There is also no clear consensus regarding the best treatment among the greater mental health professional community which included clinical psychologists, social workers, licensed therapists (MFTs) and psychiatrists. Although most trauma neuroscientifically informed practitioners understand the importance of utilizing a combination of both 'top down' and 'bottom up' interventions as well as including somatic interventions (sensorimotor psychotherapy or somatic experiencing or yoga) for the purposes of processing and integrating trauma memories.
Survivors with complex trauma often struggle to find a mental health professional who is properly trained in trauma informed practices. They can also be challenging to receive adequate treatment and services to treat a mental health condition which is not universally recognized or well understood by general practitioners.
Allistair and Hull echo the sentiment of many other trauma neuroscience researchers (including Bessel van der Kolk and Bruce D. Perry) who argue:
Complex presentations are often excluded from studies because they do not fit neatly into the simple nosological categorisations required for research power. This means that the most severe disorders are not studied adequately and patients most affected by early trauma are often not recognised by services. Both historically and currently, at the individual as well as the societal level, "dissociation from the acknowledgement of the severe impact of childhood abuse on the developing brain leads to inadequate provision of services. Assimilation into treatment models of the emerging affective neuroscience of adverse experience could help to redress the balance by shifting the focus from top-down regulation to bottom-up, body-based processing."[52]
Complex post trauma stress disorder is a long term mental health condition which is often difficult and relatively expensive to treat and often requires several years of psychotherapy, modes of intervention and treatment by highly skilled, mental health professionals who specialize in trauma informed modalities designed to process and integrate childhood trauma memories for the purposes of mitigating symptoms and improving the survivor's quality of life. Delaying therapy for people with complex PTSD, whether intentionally or not, can exacerbate the condition.[53]
Recommended treatment modalities and interventions
editThere is no one treatment which has been designed specifically for use with the adult complex PTSD population (with the exception of component based psychotherapy[54]) there are many therapeutic interventions used by mental health professionals to treat PTSD. As of February 2017[update], the American Psychological Association PTSD Guideline Development Panel (GDP) strongly recommends the following for the treatment of PTSD:[55]
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and trauma focused CBT
- Cognitive processing therapy (CPT)
- Cognitive therapy (CT)
- Prolonged exposure therapy (PE)
The American Psychological Association also conditionally recommends[56]
- Brief eclectic psychotherapy (BEP)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)[57][58][59][60][61]
- Narrative exposure therapy (NET)
While these treatments have been recommended, there is still a lack of research on the best and most efficacious treatments for complex PTSD. Psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy are effective in treating CPTSD symptoms like PTSD, depression and anxiety.[62][63] For example, in a 2016, meta-analysis, four out of eight EMDR studies resulted in statistical significance, indicating the potential effectiveness of EMDR in treating certain conditions. Additionally, subjects from two of the studies continued to benefit from the treatment months later. Seven of the studies that employed psychometric tests showed that EMDR led to a reduction in depression symptoms compared to those in the placebo group.[64] Like EMDR, the other therapies are especially effective for complex trauma related to domestic violence and less effective when the condition is related to experiences of war or childhood sexual abuse. Mindfulness and relaxation is effective for PTSD symptoms, emotion regulation and interpersonal problems for people whose complex trauma is related to sexual abuse.[62][63]
Many commonly used treatments are considered complementary or alternative since there still is a lack of research to classify these approaches as evidence based. Some of these additional interventions and modalities include:
- biofeedback
- dyadic resourcing (used with EMDR)[65]
- emotionally focused therapy
- emotional freedom technique (EFT) or tapping[66]
- equine-assisted therapy[67]
- expressive arts therapy
- internal family systems therapy[68]
- dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- family systems therapy
- group therapy[45]
- neurofeedback[69][70][71]
- psychodynamic therapy
- sensorimotor psychotherapy[72]
- somatic experiencing
- yoga, specifically trauma-sensitive yoga[73]
Criticism of disorder and diagnosis
editThough acceptance of the idea of complex PTSD has increased with mental health professionals, the fundamental research required for the proper validation of a new disorder is insufficient as of 2013.[74] The disorder was proposed under the name DES-NOS (Disorder of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified) for inclusion in the DSM-IV but was rejected by members of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) committee of the American Psychiatric Association for lack of sufficient diagnostic validity research. Chief among the stated limitations was a study which showed that 95% of individuals who could be diagnosed with the proposed DES-NOS were also diagnosable with PTSD, raising questions about the added usefulness of an additional disorder.[19]
Following the failure of DES-NOS to gain formal recognition in the DSM-IV, the concept was re-packaged for children and adolescents and given a new name, developmental trauma disorder.[75] Supporters of DTD appealed to the developers of the DSM-5 to recognize DTD as a new disorder. Just as the developers of DSM-IV refused to included DES-NOS, the developers of DSM-5 refused to include DTD due to a perceived lack of sufficient research.
One of the main justifications offered for this proposed disorder has been that the current system of diagnosing PTSD plus comorbid disorders does not capture the wide array of symptoms in one diagnosis.[7] Because individuals who suffered repeated and prolonged traumas often show PTSD plus other concurrent psychiatric disorders, some researchers have argued that a single broad disorder such as CPTSD provides a better and more parsimonious diagnosis than the current system of PTSD plus concurrent disorders.[76] Conversely, an article published in BioMed Central has posited there is no evidence that being labeled with a single disorder leads to better treatment than being labeled with PTSD plus concurrent disorders.[77]
Complex PTSD embraces a wider range of symptoms relative to PTSD, specifically emphasizing problems of emotional regulation, negative self-concept, and interpersonal problems. Diagnosing complex PTSD can imply that this wider range of symptoms is caused by traumatic experiences, rather than acknowledging any pre-existing experiences of trauma which could lead to a higher risk of experiencing future traumas. It also asserts that this wider range of symptoms and higher risk of traumatization are related by hidden confounder variables and there is no causal relationship between symptoms and trauma experiences.[77] In the diagnosis of PTSD, the definition of the stressor event is narrowly limited to life-threatening events, with the implication that these are typically sudden and unexpected events. Complex PTSD vastly widened the definition of potential stressor events by calling them adverse events, and deliberating dropping reference to life-threatening, so that experiences can be included such as neglect, emotional abuse, or living in a war zone without having specifically experienced life-threatening events.[5] By broadening the stressor criterion, an article published by the Child and Youth Care Forum claims this has led to confusing differences between competing definitions of complex PTSD, undercutting the clear operationalization of symptoms seen as one of the successes of the DSM.[78]
See also
edit- Attachment-based psychotherapy – Psychoanalytic psychotherapy based on attachment theory
- Attachment in adults – Application of the theory of attachment to adults
- Attachment in children – Biological instinct
- Ethical guidelines for treating trauma survivors – Medical Guidelines
- Psychosomatic medicine – Interdisciplinary medical field exploring various influences on bodily processes
References
edit- ^ a b c d Cook A, Blaustein M, Spinazzola J, Van Der Kolk B (2005). "Complex trauma in children and adolescents". Psychiatric Annals. 35 (5): 390–398. doi:10.3928/00485713-20050501-05. S2CID 141684244.
- ^ a b c d e Brewin, Chris R. (May 2020). "Complex post-traumatic stress disorder: a new diagnosis in ICD-11". BJPsych Advances. 26 (3): 145–152. doi:10.1192/bja.2019.48. ISSN 2056-4678. S2CID 201977205.
- ^ a b c d e World Health Organization (2022). "6B41 Complex post traumatic stress disorder". International Classification of Diseases, eleventh revision – ICD-11. Genova – icd.who.int.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Herman JL (30 May 1997). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-08730-3. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ a b c Brewin CR, Cloitre M, Hyland P, Shevlin M, Maercker A, Bryant RA, et al. (December 2017). "A review of current evidence regarding the ICD-11 proposals for diagnosing PTSD and complex PTSD" (PDF). Clinical Psychology Review. 58: 1–15. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.001. PMID 29029837. S2CID 4874961.
- ^ a b c Cloitre M (2020). "ICD-11 complex post-traumatic stress disorder: simplifying diagnosis in trauma populations". British Journal of Psychiatry. 216 (3): 129–131. doi:10.1192/bjp.2020.43. PMID 32345416. S2CID 213910628.
- ^ a b c d Herman JL (1992). "Complex PTSD: A Syndrome in Survivors of Prolonged and Repeated Trauma" (PDF). Journal of Traumatic Stress. 5 (3): 377–391. doi:10.1007/BF00977235. S2CID 189943097.
- ^ "What is complex PTSD?". www.mind.org.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)". www.healthdirect.gov.au. Healthdirect Australia. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "Complex PTSD - Post-traumatic stress disorder". nhs.uk. National Health Service. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ Luxenberg T, Spinazzola J, Van der Kolk B (November 2001). "Complex Trauma and Disorders of Extreme Stress (DESNOS) Diagnosis, Part One: Assessment" (PDF). Directions in Psychiatry. 21: 22.
- ^ a b c "Complex Trauma And Developmental Trauma Disorder" (PDF). National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ a b c Ford JD, Grasso D, Greene C, Levine J, Spinazzola J, van der Kolk B (August 2013). "Clinical significance of a proposed developmental trauma disorder diagnosis: results of an international survey of clinicians". The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 74 (8): 841–9. doi:10.4088/JCP.12m08030. PMID 24021504.
- ^ a b Zoellner, L. A.; Bedard-Gilligan, M. A.; Jun, J. J.; Marks, L. H.; Garcia, N. M. (2013). "The Evolving Construct of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): DSM-5 Criteria Changes and Legal Implications". Psychological Injury and Law. 6 (4): 277–289. doi:10.1007/s12207-013-9175-6. PMC 3901120. PMID 24470838.
- ^ a b van der Kolk B (2005). "Developmental trauma disorder" (PDF). Psychiatric Annals. pp. 401–408. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ Cook A, Blaustein M, Spinazzola J, van der Kolk B, eds. (2003). Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents: White Paper from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Complex Trauma Task Force (PDF). National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ Zlotnick C, Zakriski AL, Shea MT, Costello E, Begin A, Pearlstein T, Simpson E (April 1996). "The long-term sequelae of sexual abuse: support for a complex posttraumatic stress disorder". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 9 (2): 195–205. doi:10.1002/jts.2490090204. PMID 8731542. S2CID 189939468.
- ^ Ide N, Paez A (2000). "Complex PTSD: a review of current issues". International Journal of Emergency Mental Health. 2 (1): 43–9. PMID 11232103.
- ^ a b Roth S, Newman E, Pelcovitz D, van der Kolk B, Mandel FS (October 1997). "Complex PTSD in victims exposed to sexual and physical abuse: results from the DSM-IV Field Trial for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 10 (4): 539–55. doi:10.1002/jts.2490100403. PMID 9391940.
- ^ a b Pelcovitz D, van der Kolk B, Roth S, Mandel F, Kaplan S, Resick P (January 1997). "Development of a criteria set and a structured interview for disorders of extreme stress (SIDES)". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 10 (1): 3–16. doi:10.1002/jts.2490100103. PMID 9018674.
- ^ van der Hart O, Nijenhuis ER, Steele K (October 2005). "Dissociation: An insufficiently recognized major feature of Complex posttraumatic stress disorder" (PDF). Journal of Traumatic Stress. 18 (5): 413–23. doi:10.1002/jts.20049. PMID 16281239.
- ^ "American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees Approves DSM-5". Arlington, Virginia: American Psychiatric Association. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ Cloitre M, Shevlin M, Brewin C, Bisson J, Roberts N, Maercker A, Karatzias T, Hyland P (2018). "The International Trauma Questionnaire: development of a self-report measure of ICD-11 PTSD and complex PTSD" (PDF). Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 138 (6): 536–546. doi:10.1111/acps.12956. PMID 30178492. S2CID 52150781.
- ^ a b Courtois DA (2004). "Complex Trauma, Complex Reactions: Assessment and Treatment" (PDF). Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training. 41 (4): 412–425. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.600.157. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.41.4.412.
- ^ a b van der Kolk BA, Roth S, Pelcovitz D, Sunday S, Spinazzola J (October 2005). "Disorders of extreme stress: The empirical foundation of a complex adaptation to trauma" (PDF). Journal of Traumatic Stress. 18 (5): 389–399. doi:10.1002/jts.20047. PMID 16281237.
- ^ Schechter DS, Coates SW, Kaminer T, Coots T, Zeanah CH, Davies M, et al. (2008). "Distorted maternal mental representations and atypical behavior in a clinical sample of violence-exposed mothers and their toddlers". Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 9 (2): 123–147. doi:10.1080/15299730802045666. PMC 2577290. PMID 18985165.
- ^ Kaufman J, Zigler E (April 1987). "Do abused children become abusive parents?". The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 57 (2): 186–192. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1987.tb03528.x. PMID 3296775.
- ^ Schechter DS, Willheim E (July 2009). "Disturbances of attachment and parental psychopathology in early childhood". Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 18 (3): 665–686. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2009.03.001. PMC 2690512. PMID 19486844.
- ^ Schechter DS, Zygmunt A, Coates SW, Davies M, Trabka K, McCaw J, et al. (September 2007). "Caregiver traumatization adversely impacts young children's mental representations on the MacArthur Story Stem Battery". Attachment & Human Development. 9 (3): 187–205. doi:10.1080/14616730701453762. PMC 2078523. PMID 18007959.
- ^ Straker G (1987). "The Continuous Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The Single Therapeutic Interview". Psychology in Society (8): 46–79.
- ^ Hulley, Joanne; Wager, Khai; Gomersall, Tim; Bailey, Louis; Kirkman, Gill; Gibbs, Graham; Jones, Adele D. (13 November 2022). "Continuous Traumatic Stress: Examining the Experiences and Support Needs of Women After Separation From an Abusive Partner". Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 38 (9–10): 6275–6297. doi:10.1177/08862605221132776. ISSN 0886-2605. PMC 10052415. PMID 36373601. S2CID 253508847.
- ^ Bonanno GA (2006). "Is Complicated Grief a Valid Construct?". Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 13 (2): 129–134. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.2006.00014.x.
- ^ Jacobs S, Mazure C, Prigerson H (2000). "Diagnostic criteria for traumatic grief". Death Studies. 24 (3): 185–199. doi:10.1080/074811800200531. PMID 11010626. S2CID 218524887.
- ^ Ambrose J. "Traumatic Grief: What We Need to Know as Trauma Responders" (PDF).
- ^ Figley C (1 April 1997). Death And Trauma: The Traumatology of Grieving. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-56032-525-3. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Rando TA (February 1993). Treatment of complicated mourning. Research Press. ISBN 978-0-87822-329-9. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Rando TA (1 January 1994). "Complications in Mourning Traumatic Death". In Corless IB, Germino BB, Pittman M (eds.). Dying, death, and bereavement: theoretical perspectives and other ways of knowing. Jones and Bartlett. pp. 253–271. ISBN 978-0-86720-631-9. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Green BL (2000). "Traumatic Loss: Conceptual and Empirical Links Between Trauma and Bereavement". Journal of Personal and Interpersonal Loss. 5: 1–17. doi:10.1080/10811440008407845. S2CID 144608897.
- ^ Pynoos RS, Nader K (1988). "Psychological first aid and treatment approach to children exposed to community violence: Research implications". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 1 (4): 445–473. doi:10.1002/jts.2490010406. S2CID 143338491.
- ^ "Psychological First Aid" (PDF). Adapted from Pynoos RS, Nader K (1988). National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ van der Kolk BA, Courtois CA (October 2005). "Editorial comments: Complex developmental trauma" (PDF). Journal of Traumatic Stress. 18 (5): 385–388. doi:10.1002/jts.20046. PMID 16281236.
- ^ Distel MA, Trull TJ, Derom CA, Thiery EW, Grimmer MA, Martin NG, et al. (September 2008). "Heritability of borderline personality disorder features is similar across three countries" (PDF). Psychological Medicine. 38 (9): 1219–1229. doi:10.1017/S0033291707002024. hdl:1871/17379. PMID 17988414. S2CID 17447787. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ Cloitre M, Garvert DW, Weiss B, Carlson EB, Bryant RA (15 September 2014). "Distinguishing PTSD, Complex PTSD, and Borderline Personality Disorder: A latent class analysis". European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 5: 25097. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.25097. PMC 4165723. PMID 25279111.
- ^ "Trauma Therapy Articles: Descilo: Understanding and Treating Traumatic Bonds". Healing-Arts.org.
- ^ a b c d Ford JD, Cloitre M (2009). "Chapter 3: Best Practices in Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents". In Courtois CA, Herman JL (eds.). Treating complex traumatic stress disorders: an evidence-based guide (1st ed.). Guilford Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-60623-039-8.
- ^ a b Herman, J. L. (1998). "Recovery from psychological trauma". Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 52: S105–S110. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1819.1998.0520s5S145.x. S2CID 142651680.
- ^ Lawson D (July 2017). "Treating Adults With Complex Trauma: An Evidence-Based Case Study". Journal of Counseling and Development. 95 (3): 288–298. doi:10.1002/jcad.12143.
- ^ Schnyder U, Ehlers A, Elbert T, Foa EB, Gersons BP, Resick PA, et al. (2015). "Psychotherapies for PTSD: what do they have in common?". European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 6: 28186. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.28186. PMC 4541077. PMID 26290178.
- ^ a b Anda RF, Felitti VJ, Bremner JD, Walker JD, Whitfield C, Perry BD, et al. (April 2006). "The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood. A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology". European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 256 (3): 174–186. doi:10.1007/s00406-005-0624-4. PMC 3232061. PMID 16311898.
- ^ Teicher MH, Samson JA, Anderson CM, Ohashi K (September 2016). "The effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure, function and connectivity". Nature Reviews. Neuroscience. 17 (10): 652–666. doi:10.1038/nrn.2016.111. PMID 27640984. S2CID 27336625.
- ^ Dorrepaal E, Thomaes K, Hoogendoorn AW, Veltman DJ, Draijer N, van Balkom AJ (2014). "Evidence-based treatment for adult women with child abuse-related Complex PTSD: a quantitative review". European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 5: 23613. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.23613. PMC 4199330. PMID 25563302.
- ^ Corrigan FM, Hull AM (April 2015). "Neglect of the complex: why psychotherapy for post-traumatic clinical presentations is often ineffective". BJPsych Bulletin. 39 (2): 86–89. doi:10.1192/pb.bp.114.046995. PMC 4478904. PMID 26191439.
- ^ De Jongh A, Resick PA, Zoellner LA, van Minnen A, Lee CW, Monson CM, et al. (May 2016). "Critical Analysis of the Current Treatment Guidelines for Complex PTSD in Adults". Depression and Anxiety. 33 (5): 359–369. doi:10.1002/da.22469. PMID 26840244. S2CID 25010506.
- ^ Grossman FK, Spinazzola J, Zucker M, Hopper E (2017). "Treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect: A new framework". The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 87 (1): 86–93. doi:10.1037/ort0000225. PMID 28080123. S2CID 4486624.
- ^ American Psychological Association Guideline Developmental Panel (February 2017). "Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD" (PDF). American Psychological Association.
- ^ "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy". American Psychological Association.
- ^ van der Kolk BA, Spinazzola J, Blaustein ME, Hopper JW, Hopper EK, Korn DL, Simpson WB (January 2007). "A randomized clinical trial of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), fluoxetine, and pill placebo in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: treatment effects and long-term maintenance" (PDF). The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 68 (1): 37–46. doi:10.4088/jcp.v68n0105. PMID 17284128. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ Korn DL, Leeds AM (December 2002). "Preliminary evidence of efficacy for EMDR resource development and installation in the stabilization phase of treatment of complex posttraumatic stress disorder" (PDF). Journal of Clinical Psychology. 58 (12). Wiley: 1465–1487. doi:10.1002/jclp.10099. PMID 12455016.
- ^ Fisher J (2001). "Modified EMDR Resource Development and Installation Protocol" (PDF). Trauma Center Boston, Massachusetts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ Parnell L (1999). EMDR in the Treatment of Adults Abused as Children. Norton Professional Books. ISBN 978-0-393-70298-9 – via Google Books.
- ^ Parnell L, Felder E (1999). Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma. W. W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978-0-393-70745-8 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Mental health problems in complex trauma: the most promising therapies are identified in a new review". NIHR Evidence. 2 February 2021. doi:10.3310/alert_44248. S2CID 243089569.
- ^ a b Melton, Hollie; Meader, Nick; Dale, Holly; Wright, Kath; Jones-Diette, Julie; Temple, Melanie; Shah, Iram; Lovell, Karina; McMillan, Dean; Churchill, Rachel; Barbui, Corrado; Gilbody, Simon; Coventry, Peter (14 September 2020). "Interventions for adults with a history of complex traumatic events: the INCiTE mixed-methods systematic review". Health Technology Assessment. 24 (43): 1–312. doi:10.3310/hta24430. ISSN 2046-4924. PMC 7520719. PMID 32924926.
- ^ Forman-Hoffman, Valerie; Cook Middleton, Jennifer; Feltner, Cynthia; Gaynes, Bradley N.; Palmieri Weber, Rachel; Bann, Carla; Viswanathan, Meera; Lohr, Kathleen N.; Baker, Claire (17 May 2018). Psychological and Pharmacological Treatments for Adults With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review Update (Report). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). doi:10.23970/ahrqepccer207.
- ^ Manfield P (2010). Dyadic Resourcing: Creating a Foundation for Processing Trauma. Create Space Independent. ISBN 978-1-4537-3813-9 – via Google Books.
- ^ Parnell L (2008). Tapping In: A Step-by-Step Guide to Activating Your Healing Resources Through Bilateral Stimulation. Sounds True. ISBN 978-1-59179-788-3.
- ^ Dorotik-Nana C (February 2011). "Is Equine Therapy Supported By Research?". PsychCentral. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ Anderson F, Schwartz R, Sweezy M (2017). Internal Family Systems Skills Training Manual: Trauma-Informed Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, PTSD & Substance Abuse. PESI Publishing and Media. ISBN 978-1-68373-087-3 – via Google Books.
- ^ van der Kolk BA, Hodgdon H, Gapen M, Musicaro R, Suvak MK, Hamlin E, Spinazzola J (April 2019). "A Randomized Controlled Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD". PLOS ONE. 11 (12): e0166752. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166752. PMC 5161315. PMID 27992435.
- ^ Fisher S (21 April 2014). Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Calming the Fear-Driven Brain. W. W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978-0-393-70786-1 – via Google Books.
- ^ Othmer SO, Othmer S (Spring 2009). "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Neurofeedback Remedy" (PDF). Biofeedback. 37 (1). Association for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback: 24–31. doi:10.5298/1081-5937-37.1.24.
- ^ Odgen P, Minton K, Pain C (2015). Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment. W. W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978-0-393-70613-0 – via Google Books.
- ^ van der Kolk BA, Stone L, West J, Rhodes A, Emerson D, Suvak M, Spinazzola J (June 2014). "Yoga as an adjunctive treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial" (PDF). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 75 (6): e559–565. doi:10.4088/JCP.13m08561. PMID 25004196. S2CID 2382770. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
- ^ Keane TM (May 2013). "Interview: does complex trauma exist? A 'long view' based on science and service in the trauma field. Interview by Lisa M Najavits". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 69 (5): 510–5. doi:10.1002/jclp.21991. PMID 23564601.
- ^ van der Kolk BA (2005). "Developmental trauma disorder: toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories". Psychiatric Annals. 35 (5): 401–408. doi:10.3928/00485713-20050501-06. S2CID 75373197.
- ^ D'Andrea W, Ford J, Stolbach B, Spinazzola J, van der Kolk BA (April 2012). "Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: why we need a developmentally appropriate trauma diagnosis" (PDF). The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 82 (2): 187–200. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2012.01154.x. PMID 22506521.
- ^ a b Schmid M, Petermann F, Fegert JM (January 2013). "Developmental trauma disorder: pros and cons of including formal criteria in the psychiatric diagnostic systems". BMC Psychiatry. 13: 3. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-13-3. PMC 3541245. PMID 23286319.
- ^ Scheeringa MS (August 2015). "Untangling Psychiatric Comorbidity in Young Children Who Experienced Single, Repeated, or Hurricane Katrina Traumatic Events". Child & Youth Care Forum. 44 (4): 475–492. doi:10.1007/s10566-014-9293-7. PMC 4511493. PMID 26213455.
Further reading
edit- Appleyard K, Osofsky JD (2003). "Parenting after trauma: Supporting parents and caregivers in the treatment of children impacted by violence". Infant Mental Health Journal. 24 (2): 111–125. doi:10.1002/imhj.10050.
- Bannit SP (2012). The Trauma Tool Kit: Healing PTSD from the Inside Out. Quest Books. ISBN 978-0-8356-0896-1 – via Google Books.
- Briere J, Scott C (30 August 2012). Principles of Trauma Therapy: A Guide to Symptoms, Evaluation, and Treatment. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4129-8143-9. Retrieved 29 October 2012 – via Google Books.
- Courtois C (12 October 2014). It's Not You, It's What Happened to You: Complex Trauma and Treatment. Elements Behavioral Health. ISBN 978-1-941536-55-1 – via Google Books.
- Fisher, Janina (2017). Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-70823-4 – via Google Books.
- Fisher S (2010). "Arousal and Identity: Thoughts on Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma" (PDF). Biofeedback. 38 (1): 6–8. doi:10.5298/1081-5937-38.1.6.
- Ford JD (February 1999). "Disorders of extreme stress following war-zone military trauma: associated features of posttraumatic stress disorder or comorbid but distinct syndromes?". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 67 (1): 3–12. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.67.1.3. PMID 10028203.
- Frewen P, Lanius R (2015). Healing the Traumatized Self: Consciousness, Neuroscience, Treatment. Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. W.W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978-0-393-70849-3 – via Google Books.
- International Society For The Study (2011). "Guidelines for treating dissociative identity disorder in adults, third revision" (PDF). Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 12 (2): 115–87. doi:10.1080/15299732.2011.537247. PMID 21391103.
- van der Hart O, Mosquera D, Gonzales A (2008). "Borderline Personality Disorder, Developmental Trauma and Structural Dissociation of the Personality" (PDF). Persona. 2: 44–73.
- van der Hart O, Nijenhuis ER, Steele K (2006). The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization. W.W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978-0-393-70401-3.
- van der Hart O, Boon S, Steele K (2016). Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Practical, Integrative Approach. Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. Norton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-393-70759-5 – via Google Books.
- van der Kolk B (2015). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-312774-1 – via Google Books.
- van der Kolk BA (July 2006). "Clinical implications of neuroscience research in PTSD". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1071 (1): 277–93. Bibcode:2006NYASA1071..277V. doi:10.1196/annals.1364.022. PMID 16891578. S2CID 28935850.
- Walker P (December 2013). Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-4928-7184-2.