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Phenomenology and psychological assessment of complex posttraumatic states
Author(s) -
Briere John,
Spinazzola Joseph
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20048
Subject(s) - stressor , psychology , distress , clinical psychology , mood , posttraumatic stress , cognition , psychological distress , psychological trauma , psychotherapist , psychiatry , anxiety
The authors offer a framework for the assessment of psychological responses associated with exposure to early onset, multiple, or extended traumatic stressors. Six prominent and overlapping symptoms clusters are described: altered self‐capacities, cognitive symptoms, mood disturbance, overdeveloped avoidance responses, somatoform distress, and posttraumatic stress. A strategy for the structured, psychometrically valid assessment of these outcomes is introduced, and specific recommendations for use of various generic and trauma‐specific child and adult measures are provided. Implications of trauma assessment for treatment planning are discussed.