Week 9 - Clinical Psychology 2

Question 1

What are the 3 additions that differentiate complex PTSD from PTSD?

Answer 1

Somatisation

Dissociation

Affective changes

Question 2

What is somatisation in complex PTSD?

Answer 2

Constant Anxiety/hyper vigilance leading to psychosomatic symptoms (which can increase over time)

Question 3

What is dissociation in complex PTSD?

Answer 3

Disconnecting from one’s thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity

can be intentional (voluntary) or unintentional

Question 4

What are the affective changes of complex PTSD?

Answer 4

Chronic depression, limited ability to express anger/frustration can lead to later outbursts or withdrawal/self harm

Question 5

What ongoing changes are related to the experiences of complex PTSD?

Answer 5

Relational difficulties

Changes to sense of self

Question 6

What is the distinction between the traumas of PTSD compared to complex PTSD?

Answer 6

Not the “type” of trauma, but the duration and lack of control/ability to escape

Question 7

What are some potential PTSD triggers?

Answer 7

Single sexual assault

Single physical assault

exposure to violence in combat

exposure to a natural disaster

Question 8

What are some potential complex PTSD triggers?

Answer 8

Human trafficking (organised sexual exploitation)

Domestic violence

Childhood abuse

Cults

Prisons/concentration camps

Question 9

What is PTSD?

Answer 9

typically associated with a single event, or a number of events in a short period of time. Symptoms often associated with ‘looking back’ - reliving the experience, intrusive memories etc

Question 10

What is complex PTSD?

Answer 10

Exposure to prolonged, repeated trauma. Often in what is traditionally a ‘safe’ and intimate setting (though not always). Symptoms often include personality and behavioural changes that can increase future risk (by self or others)

Question 11

A review of the literature by Resick in 2012 found what about the diagnosis PTSD and complex PTSD?

Answer 11

Insufficient evidence to support complex PTSD as a distinct diagnosis from PTSD, based on the was PTSD was defined in the DSM-5

Question 12

What diagnostic manual suggests that PTSD and complex PTSD are two ‘sibling’ disorders?

Answer 12

ICD-11 committee

Question 13

Why was complex PTSD not included as a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5?

Answer 13

Because 92% of people with complex PTSD also met the criteria for PTSD (Roth et al, 1997)

Question 14

The DSM-5 added a symptom cluster of negative alterations in cognition and mood, along with symptoms related to intrusion, avoidance, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. What symptoms does this cluster include?

Answer 14

Overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself or the world

Exaggerated blame of self or others for causing the trauma

Negative affect (negative emotions)

Decreased interest in activities

Feeling isolated

Difficulty experiencing positive affect

Question 15

If auditory hallucinations are not always linked to a diagnosis, then what are they linked to?

Answer 15

Emotional, cognitive and psychosocial variables

Question 16

What mechanisms have been proposed as possible mediators between adversity exposure and voice hearing?

Answer 16

Trauma induced structural/functional neurological changes

Dissociation

Quality of attachment relationships

Dysfunctional cognitive processes like impaired source monitoring and memory disturbances

Question 17

What are the principles of the Hearing Voices Movement? (HVM)

Answer 17

Normalising voices

Respecting Diverse Explanations

Ownership

The role of peer support

Accepting and making sense of voices

Question 18

What patients of complex PTSD have significantly higher scores than other patients on standardised measures of somatisation, depression, general and phobias anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, paranoia and psychoticism?

Answer 18

Women with histories of physical or sexual abuse

Question 19

What patients of complex PTSD had significantly more insomnia, sexual dysfunction, dissociation, anger, suicidality, self-mutilation, drug addiction and alcoholism?

Answer 19

Survivors of childhood abuse

Question 20

What repetitive behaviour is strongly associated with a history of prolonged repeated trauma?

Answer 20

Self-mutilisation, a compulsive form of self injury