NRNP 6645 Week 9 Assignment: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
NRNP 6645 Week 9 Assignment: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem diagnosed in people with a history of traumatic experiences. The symptoms of PTSD affect functioning and the patient’s quality of life. Psychiatric practitioners prescribe different treatments for symptom management. Therefore, this paper discusses the neurological basis for PTSD, its diagnostic criteria, and a psychotherapy intervention that can be used for the patient in the assigned video.
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Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness
PTSD has a neurobiological basis. Studies show that PTSD develops due to an interplay between endocrinology, brain circuitry, and neurochemistry factors. The endocrine factors associated with PTSD include abnormal regulation of thyroid hormones and cortisol. The abnormal hormone levels develop due to altered functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which regulates stress response systems, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, which regulates metabolic and anabolic states (Dossi et al., 2020; Ressler et al., 2022). Neurochemical factors also contribute to PTSD development. This includes abnormal regulation of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, catecholamine, peptide, amino acid, and opioid neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters regulate mood and stress responses. Changes in brain circuitry also contribute to PTSD development. Brain imaging studies show that patients with PTSD have alterations in the amygdala and hippocampus (Kube et al., 2020). There are also changes in the insular, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal brain regions, which imply that brain changes lead to the development of PTSD.
DSM-5-TR Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD
The DSM-5 tool is used for PTSD diagnosis. A patient is diagnosed with PTSD if he or she presents to the hospital with a range of symptoms. The patient must have been exposed to a traumatic event (s) and have symptoms of intrusion associated with the traumatic experience. Patients report intrusion symptoms su
ch as recurrent and distressing memories that relate to the trauma, frequent nightmares, flashbacks, psychological distress, and psychological symptoms whenever the patient is exposed to symbols related to the trauma. Patients should also demonstrate avoidance of any stimuli associated with the trauma. This includes avoiding any thoughts, memories, feelings, or reminders associated with the traumatic events (Kube et al., 2020). Patients also demonstrate mood and cognition alterations and significant changes in reactivity and arousal associated with the trauma.
Joe has the above symptoms of PTSD. He has direct experience with traumatic events, intrusive memories of the accident, altered understanding of the accident, distress when exposed to cues related to the accident, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, and behavioral changes. These behaviors affected his social and academic functioning. Therefore, he meets the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. The other diagnoses in the video are appropriate since Joe demonstrated symptoms that aligned with the diagnoses.
Psychotherapy Treatment
Cognitive processing therapy is the other psychotherapy treatment option that can be considered for Joe. Cognitive processing therapy is a treatment that helps patients develop effective skills for challenging and modifying negative beliefs associated with trauma. A therapist helps Joe create a new understanding of the traumatic event to lower its negative effects on mental health and functioning. The therapist also helps patients understand their negative thoughts and emotions related to the trauma and identify effective skills to address unhelpful thoughts and emotions (Haynes et al., 2020; Holder et al., 2020). Through it, patients recover progressively from PTSD. Cognitive processing therapy is not a standard intervention for treating PTSD. Psychiatric mental health practitioners should use evidence-based treatments because they are associated with optimum safety, quality, and efficiency outcomes. The sources used in this paper are scholarly. They are peer-reviewed articles. Experts in psychiatry authored them. The articles provide evidence-based data that inform clinical management of PTSD.
Conclusion
In summary, Joe’s symptoms meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. PTSD has a neurobiological basis. Cognitive processing therapy can be used in Joe’s case despite it not being considered a gold treatment for PTSD. Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners should use gold-standard, evidence-based treatments to achieve optimum outcomes in managing psychiatric conditions.