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The Effects Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )

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The Developmental Psychopathological Approach to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Introduction This report endeavours to provide a Developmental Psychopathological Approach of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Developmental Psychopathology is broadly conceptualised as depicting the dynamic processes underlying ‘typical’ child development (Campbell, Cummings & Patrick,2003). An awareness of ‘typical’ and ‘atypical’ developmental characteristics at varied ages and developmental stages is crucial for parents and health professionals. Through the use of developmental psychopathology, clinicians and parents are able to gain an insight into children’s behaviour, as well as acknowledge assessments, therapeutic planning and treatments …show more content…

In general, children who experience a single-occurring trauma display symptoms of PTSD within a year. In some cases this can be delayed and re-emerge in later life. The diagnosis of PTSD originated in the 1980s’s when war veterans displayed symptoms. PTSD was consequently only conceptualised for traumatised adults in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA, 2013).However, recent studies proposed that children and adolescents between 1-18 years old show distinct symptoms that contribute to the development of PTSD. As a result, the DSM -5 issued a new sub-type criterion for Preschool children under the age of six. These core symptoms are divided into four clusters: re-experiencing, emotional numbing, avoidance and hyper-arousal (APA,2013). Individuals must display at least one symptom from each cluster for one month or longer and it must cause significant distress to the child’s development. Children with PTSD may re-experience the trauma through intrusive forms of thought, flashbacks, nightmares and emotional or physical distress. Young children tend to generalise recurring nightmares into unrecognisable content, such as monsters. In addition, children may experience the trauma through repetitive play, re-enactment and destructive behaviour. The second cluster is avoidance patterns. This refers to children avoiding distressing thoughts, feelings and reminders of the

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