TPC-Journal-V4-Issue3

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 3 265 the shifting labels, and thus call for varied interventions? How does a counselor explain to a client who had PTSD under the DSM-IV that she or he no longer meets criteria nor qualifies for reimbursement with the new diagnosis of adjustment disorder? Or will adjustment disorder, re-categorized as a TSRD in DSM-5 , now be recognized by third-party payment systems as a reimbursable disorder? Although some answers are beginning to unfold, an increased awareness and adaption of trauma assessment, treatment and administration can help counselors navigate such questions and effectively work with clients. Client Assessment Changes precipitated by the DSM-5 require counselors be acutely aware of the modified PTSD diagnostic criteria for careful assessment of survivors. Thorough assessment includes applying both informal and formal approaches, using multiple sources of information, and conducting initial and ongoing screenings. During the present transition, informal assessment becomes especially important as efforts to revise and validate formal assessment tools continue. Informal assessment. Given the central importance of trauma exposure in client care, counselors may continue to struggle to sensitively solicit needed information early in the counseling process. Honed skills for developing and continually fostering the therapeutic alliance are essential to client disclosure and in conscientiously deciphering such information. Some clients may be more reticent to share information, while others may reveal very detailed accounts of their story. In either case, counselors need to remain cognizant of the risk for re-traumatization during this process and pace sessions accordingly. Friedman (2013) also recognized that the current conceptualization of trauma in the DSM-5 insinuates the trauma has already happened, and that the individual is now “in a context of relative safety” (p. 763). This assumption may complicate assessment of individuals in enduring traumatic environments (e.g., partner violence). During informal assessment with adults, counselors should practice acute observation skills for nonverbal clues that may signal present intrusive, numbing, arousal and dissociative symptomatology. Reported experiences of feeling detached from body or mind and reports of the world seeming dreamlike or unreal are primary indicators of dissociative experiences. Objective cues of dissociative responses also may be present, such as the client appearing to space out (Briere & Scott, 2013). Further, behavioral responses such as reckless and self-destructive behavior must also be recognized as potential trauma responses. The two new criterion D symptoms related to client cognitions, however, require counselors to determine a survivor’s cognitive perception of the event, self and world, and how perceptions of the latter two may have shifted post-trauma. Moreover, given the current distinction between numbing and avoidance symptoms, counselors may need to discern conscious from unconscious motivations behind client behaviors. In children, informal assessment of traumatic responses, although now facilitated by developmentally appropriate criteria, may be particularly challenging. This requires keen observation of behavior, interpersonal interactions, sleep patterns and play. Cohen et al. (2010) suggested that child assessments must account for the onset of symptoms and changing patterns therein to avoid potential misdiagnoses. Recognizing how trauma responses manifest in children will help counselors correctly identify child survivors and help children get the mental health care needed to avert potentially protracted concerns across the life span. Formal assessment. Formal assessment methods consistent with the revised diagnostic criteria are an essential adjunct to a counselor’s informal assessment. A notable addition to the DSM-5 is the provision of diagnostic assessments. Many are still considered “emerging,” as the APA continues to gather feedback from clinicians (APA, 2014). Counselors can familiarize themselves with these measures and stay updated on their availability and validation through the DSM-5 website ( www.psych.org/practice/dsm/dsm5 ) .