How is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosed

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How is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosed?
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How PTSD Diagnosed

• Psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or
  other mental health clinician will make the
  diagnosis after a comprehensive assessment a
  series of interviews with you and your child.
  During the interviews, the clinician will ask
  about
• the traumatic experience your child suffered or
  witnessed
• your childs symptoms
• your childs school, social, and medical
  histories
• your familys medical and mental health history
• Together with the mental health clinician, you
  will arrive at a formulation or explanation of
  your childs PTSD symptoms, which will lead
  directly to a mutually agreed-upon treatment plan.

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If my child is diagnosed with PTSD, what happens
next?

• Your childs mental health clinician will explain
  the diagnosis and answer any questions you or
  your child may have. The next step is developing
  a mutually agreed-upon treatment plan that works
  for you, your child, and your family. The plan
  may include one or more of the following
  therapies
• psychotherapy for the child
• psychotherapy for the family
• in some cases, a combination of therapy and
  medication
• Its essential to seek PTSD Treatment for Child
  as soon as PTSD symptoms emerge. The disorder
  responds very well to therapies delivered by
  qualified mental health clinicians, but if left
  untreated, can cause longstanding emotional
  distress, relationship problems and academic
  failures for your child.

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Psychotherapy

• Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is the mainstay
  of mental health treatment at Boston Childrens.
  Psychotherapy will teach a child with
  PTSD-specific coping strategies, including
  learning how to
• identify feelings of fear
• manage fear and anxiety with relaxation
  techniques and self-soothing activities
• talk through the traumatic event to release and
  understand buried feelings
• think about the traumatic event in ways that do
  not involve self-blame or guilt
• plan what to do if another traumatic event should
  occur
• restore trust in others and build hope for the
  future
• If your child is very young, you will usually
  participate in the psychotherapy sessions
  alongside him

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Trauma Systems Therapy

• Clinicians have developed a therapeutic approach
  called Trauma Systems Therapy. This treatment
  recognizes that a childs traumatic stress often
  boils down to two factors
• the child is unable to control his emotional or
  behavioural state
• the child is not receiving sufficient support
  from his surrounding environment to help him
  regulate these feelings
• Our psychiatrists and psychologists have used TST
  to train other clinicians, as well as providers
  in health and community agencies, to
• recognize when a child is struggling with loss of
  emotional control tied to a trauma
• take steps to address the problems in the childs
  environment that continue to trigger these
  feelings

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Thank You
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