How is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosed

1. How is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosed?

2. 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 child’s symptoms • your child’s school, social, and medical histories • your family’s medical and mental health history • Together with the mental health clinician, you will arrive at a formulation or explanation of your child’s PTSD symptoms, which will lead directly to a mutually agreed-upon treatment plan.

3. If my child is diagnosed with PTSD, what happens next? • Your child’s 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 • It’s 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.

4. Psychotherapy • Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is the mainstay of mental health treatment at Boston Children’s. 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

5. Trauma Systems Therapy • Clinicians have developed a therapeutic approach called Trauma Systems Therapy. This treatment recognizes that a child’s 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 child’s environment that continue to trigger these feelings

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