EMDR Trauma & PTSD Diagnostic Criteria 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to DSM-5, how long must PTSD symptoms persist to meet the full diagnostic threshold?
- More than 1 week
- More than 1 month (Correct answer)
- More than 3 months
- More than 6 months
Correct answer: More than 1 month
DSM-5 requires that PTSD symptoms persist for more than one month after the traumatic event.
Question 2: Which DSM-5 criterion for PTSD captures negative alterations in cognitions and mood?
- Criterion B
- Criterion C
- Criterion D (Correct answer)
- Criterion E
Correct answer: Criterion D
Criterion D covers negative alterations in cognitions and mood, such as persistent negative beliefs and feelings of detachment.
Question 3: A trauma survivor reports feeling emotionally numb, losing interest in activities, and feeling estranged from others. Which PTSD criterion cluster does this best represent?
- Intrusion symptoms
- Avoidance symptoms
- Negative alterations in cognition and mood (Correct answer)
- Alterations in arousal and reactivity
Correct answer: Negative alterations in cognition and mood
Emotional numbing, anhedonia, and estrangement are hallmark features of the Criterion D cluster (negative alterations in cognition and mood).
Question 4: In DSM-5, the specifier 'with dissociative symptoms' for PTSD includes which two features?
- Flashbacks and nightmares
- Depersonalization and derealization (Correct answer)
- Emotional numbing and amnesia
- Hypervigilance and exaggerated startle
Correct answer: Depersonalization and derealization
The dissociative subtype of PTSD is specified by the presence of depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself) and/or derealization (unreality of surroundings).
Question 5: Which of the following is NOT listed as a qualifying traumatic stressor under DSM-5 Criterion A for PTSD?
- Witnessing a violent death
- Learning that a close family member was in a serious accident
- Experiencing repeated emotional neglect in childhood (Correct answer)
- Repeated occupational exposure to aversive details of traumatic events
Correct answer: Experiencing repeated emotional neglect in childhood
Emotional neglect alone does not meet DSM-5 Criterion A, which requires exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.
Question 6: How does PTSD differ from Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) primarily in terms of timing?
- ASD begins immediately; PTSD has a required 3-day delay before onset
- ASD is diagnosed within 3 days to 1 month post-trauma; PTSD is diagnosed after 1 month (Correct answer)
- PTSD can only be diagnosed after 6 months; ASD covers the first 6 months
- ASD requires fewer symptom clusters than PTSD
Correct answer: ASD is diagnosed within 3 days to 1 month post-trauma; PTSD is diagnosed after 1 month
Acute Stress Disorder is diagnosed from 3 days to 1 month after trauma, while PTSD requires symptoms lasting more than 1 month.
Question 7: A combat veteran experiences intense psychological distress when hearing a car backfire. This best illustrates which PTSD symptom category?
- Intrusive memories
- Avoidance
- Negative cognitions
- Reactivity (physiological reactivity to trauma cues) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Reactivity (physiological reactivity to trauma cues)
Marked physiological reactivity to cues resembling the traumatic event falls under Criterion E (alterations in arousal and reactivity).
EMDR Trauma & PTSD Diagnostic Criteria 2
According to DSM-5, how long must PTSD symptoms persist to meet the full diagnostic threshold?