Product Description

Approximately half of all men and women will be exposed to a traumatic event, such as: assault, terrorism, military combat, car accident, domestic violence, or natural disaster. Of those exposed, eight percent of Americans and 20-30 percent of people elsewhere will develop trauma-related symptoms that impair day-to-day functioning. Who is at risk, and what is the likelihood of recovery? How does PTSD differ from other acute stress disorders? Get answers from the expert, plus: Targeted case studies Assessment and treatment guidelines for children and adolescents as well as adults Information on over 38 assessment tools 8 cognitive behavioral therapies and eye movement desensitization Comparative table of PTSD medication dosages, indications, and contraindications Effectiveness of medications vs. psychotherapy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #206899 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 120 pages

About the Author
Dr. Friedman is executive director of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders and president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; his is also author of Effective Treatments for PTSD.

Customer Reviews

Good Introduction, Good Update & Review....
I've been a psychotherapist for 20 years, with another 5-10 years before that as a counselor. Perhaps three-quarters of my clients have had PTSD -- most often from child abuse or neglect.

I found "Post-Traumatic and Acute Stress Disorders: The Latest Assessment and Treatment Strategies", written by long-time leading researcher & practitioner, Matthew Friedman, MD, PhD, highly readable & clearly organized. It covers the aspects of PTSD & PTSD treatment most valuable for a clinician, and it can even help a motivated client with college-level reading skills.

"Post-Traumatic and Acute Stress Disorders" begins with a brief history, as well as a good, quick review of basic PTSD symptoms, and a case example to apply those symptoms. It then summarizes up-to-date research that all clinicians should know -- for example, common co-morbidities (other "psychological problems") found with PTSD, research-based therapeutic effectiveness of various treatments, discussions of the newer diagnostic categories -- Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and Complex PTSD -- and what works in medicine. For the more beginning clinician, it's a solid introduction; for the experienced clinician, it's a good review & update. I've even used it with a few clients. They report it was helpful, and it generated some good discussions & therapy.

I've read several of the "Compact Clinical Series", and this shares their strengths of presentation, making this volume good not only for a "first time" read, but also for a quick reference about, say, "What percentage of men with PTSD have problems with alcohol?" (Answer: 52%) or "Does age and childhood trauma & adversity create greater risk for PTSD?" (Answer: Yes. In particular, those younger than 25 are most at-risk.)

"Post-Traumatic & Acute Stress Disorders" also shares the weaknesses of the Compact Clinical Series, which are the weaknesses of DSM since DSM-III and the cognitive-behavioral treatments with which it has become so closely tied. This can be a particular problem for PTSD, perhaps the most individualized "disorder" in DSM -- always about "this particular person", coming from "this particular background", having faced "this particular trauma", which is the Greek word for "wound".

I'm a cognitive-behavioral therapist, as well as a family therapist. And no clinician who has worked with the problematic, often sloppy diagnosing of DSM-II wishes for a return to that. But the "separate diseases" model, built up by different discreet thoughts and behaviors has real limitations with PTSD. Let me too-briefly detail only two:

"Meaning". PTSD, if it's not merely a need for training to handle tough memories, always involves meanings, which are deeply linked to who the person is, and which are stubbornly not-reducible to such things as behaviors, thoughts, even beliefs. Let us not forget that, while there have long been writings and even a few books on PTSD before the mid-20th century, especially with combat "PTSD", one of the earliest and perhaps still the best-selling "PTSD" book is Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning.

"Research", as conducted strictly in this "single & separate disease" model. For example, Effective Treatments for PTSD: Practice Guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, c. 2000, (The second edition, Effective Treatments for PTSD, Second Edition: Practice Guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, comes out late this year.) of which Friedman is one of the editors, gives its "punchline" in its introduction: "It is customary... in studies of PTSD treatment to exclude patients with active substance dependence, acute suicidal ideation, neuropsychological deficits [such as TBI]...." This excludes over half, perhaps as many as two-thirds of males with PTSD. This will exclude a large percentage of soldiers coming back from Iraq.

But even given these limitations, this is a most useful book, which I heartily recommend. Especially if you take to heart, even broaden, a caution given in "Effective Treatments": "...clinicians following these guidelines should not limit themselves to only those approaches and techniques. Creative integration of new approaches that have been found to be helpful in other conditions and that have a theoretically sound foundation are encouraged in an effort to optimize treatment outcome."

Post-Traumatic and Acute Stress Disorders
This book answers a need in our library for the subject of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and treatment. It will be used by our Allied Health Dept for nursing students who study psychology as it relates to nursing practice. Other students who have an interest in the topic would also benefit from this book. The layout of the book is very well organized for ease of reading. It has Case Examples and Key Concepts as well as many other features.