The face of PTSD

Treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is complicated and complex. The disorder itself includes 20 symptoms categorized into four different clusters. Impairment in functioning across major life domains is also readily apparent in PTSD clinical presentations and, indeed, is a requirement for meeting criteria for the disorder. To add to the complexity of PTSD, the disorder rarely occurs in isolation with other types of mental illness, such as depression, panic disorder, and substance use disorders that are quite often diagnosed along with PTSD. Further, patients presenting with PTSD can look very different from one another in terms of the types of exposures to traumatic events, family histories, social support systems, and physical health complications. This chapter seeks to describe PTSD and provides three case vignettes to illustrate the unique nature of each patient presenting with PTSD.