TPC-Journal-V4-Issue3

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 3 266 Relevant formal measures of PTSD for the DSM-5 include the following: Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measures for brief assessment, Level 2 measures for in-depth domain-specific assessment, disorder-specific Severity Measures, and potentially Early Development and Home Background Forms (APA, 2014). Level 1 surveys include questions related to avoidance, sleep quality, repetitive unpleasant thoughts and other symptoms found in DSM-5 PTSD criteria. This level provides a measure for adults, a self-rated measure for children ages 11 to 17, and a guardian-rated measure for children ages 6 to 17. Level 2 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measures allow for more in-depth explorations of symptoms. Disorder-Specific Severity Measures contain the National Stressful Events Survey PTSD Short Scales for adults and for children ages 11-17. Although guardian measures are available, the applicable age range is limited from 6 to 17 years. Thus these measures are not appropriate for assessing symptoms in preschool children, despite the addition of distinct diagnostic criteria for this population. In addition to the DSM-5 measures provided by the APA, the National Center for PTSD updated three measures to include DSM-5 criteria: the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5). Counselors wanting to access these measures can submit requests on the National Center for PTSD’s website ( www.ptsd.va.gov/ ) . Differential diagnosis: A resource with limitations. Another component of assessment is differential diagnosis. The use of updated measures for formal assessment may not always resolve confusion engendered by facets of DSM-5 diagnosis such as overlapping criteria. Selecting among the Level 2 cross-cutting measures may be challenging, as many currently focus on anxiety, anger and inattention, which may not be applicable or adequate in assessing PTSD. Differential diagnosis may help counselors gain needed clarity and is often considered integral to every initial clinical encounter and the basis for treatment planning (First, 2014). Decision trees allow for diagnostic determination based on the entirety of a client’s presenting symptoms and assist in identifying diagnostic options by using lists of symptoms relevant to PTSD, including distractibility, mood concerns, suicidal behavior, anxiety, avoidance and insomnia. Out of the 29 available decision trees in the DSM-5 Handbook of Differential Diagnosis (First, 2014), nine include decisions that may result in an accurate diagnosis of PTSD or another TSRD, not including lists with adjustment disorder as the sole TSRD. However, some decision trees, which include symptoms reflective of PTSD criteria, do not include the disorder as a possible conclusion. For instance, criterion D covers “negative alterations in cognitions and mood,” though none of the three decision trees associated with mood include PTSD. The new symptom in criterion E is “self-destructive or reckless behavior,” yet the Decision Tree for Suicidal Ideation or Behavior does not include PTSD as a possible diagnosis, nor does its counterpart for self-injury or self-mutilation. Thus, in the initial absence of information about a precipitating event, well-developed informal assessment skills for PTSD may be the best tool a counselor can use to form initial hypotheses for client conceptualization and associated treatment planning. Treatment New changes to the DSM also engender implications for PTSD treatment. As noted, the four-factor model of PTSD discriminates between avoidance and negative emotionality/numbing. This transition emphasizes the need to address these two constructs as unique symptom sets in survivors and highlights the influence of neuroscience research on best practices in trauma care. For instance, positive emotional numbing is considered a neurologically based symptom outside the conscious control of survivors, as opposed to the conscious or conditioned behavioral-based responses of effortful avoidance used to decrease arousal (Asmundson et al., 2004). The degree of emotional numbing versus avoidance in clients (or vice versa) suggests differential subpopulations of survivors and thus treatment approaches. For example, exposure therapy has proven