EMDR Trauma & PTSD Diagnostic Criteria 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes 'complex PTSD' as conceptualized in the ICD-11?
- PTSD with co-occurring major depression
- PTSD symptoms plus disturbances in self-organization including affect dysregulation, negative self-concept, and relational disturbances (Correct answer)
- PTSD caused exclusively by childhood sexual abuse
- PTSD that does not respond to first-line treatments
Correct answer: PTSD symptoms plus disturbances in self-organization including affect dysregulation, negative self-concept, and relational disturbances
ICD-11 complex PTSD includes the core PTSD features plus disturbances in self-organization (affect dysregulation, negative self-concept, disturbances in relationships).
Question 2: A survivor of repeated domestic violence cannot recall important aspects of the abuse. Under DSM-5 PTSD Criterion D, this is classified as:
- Dissociative amnesia related to the traumatic events (Correct answer)
- Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli
- An intrusion symptom
- Hypervigilance
Correct answer: Dissociative amnesia related to the traumatic events
Inability to remember important aspects of the traumatic event (dissociative amnesia) is one of the negative alterations in cognition under Criterion D.
Question 3: Which population has a lifetime PTSD prevalence approximately twice that of men, according to epidemiological research?
- Children under age 12
- Women (Correct answer)
- Veterans of armed conflict
- Elderly adults over 65
Correct answer: Women
Women have approximately twice the lifetime prevalence of PTSD compared to men, even after controlling for trauma exposure rates.
Question 4: The DSM-5 criterion requiring that PTSD symptoms cause 'clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning' corresponds to which criterion?
- Criterion D
- Criterion E
- Criterion F (Correct answer)
- Criterion G
Correct answer: Criterion F
Criterion F (functional significance) requires that symptoms cause clinically significant distress or functional impairment.
Question 5: Which term describes PTSD that emerges more than 6 months after the traumatic event?
- Subthreshold PTSD
- Chronic PTSD
- PTSD with delayed expression (Correct answer)
- Secondary traumatization
Correct answer: PTSD with delayed expression
DSM-5 uses the specifier 'with delayed expression' when the full diagnostic criteria are not met until at least 6 months after the traumatic event.
Question 6: A therapist is assessing whether a client's startle response and sleep disturbance qualify as PTSD symptoms. These symptoms fall under which DSM-5 criterion cluster?
- Criterion B — Intrusion
- Criterion C — Avoidance
- Criterion D — Negative cognitions/mood
- Criterion E — Alterations in arousal and reactivity (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Criterion E — Alterations in arousal and reactivity
Exaggerated startle response and sleep disturbance are both listed under Criterion E (alterations in arousal and reactivity).
Question 7: Which DSM-5 change regarding PTSD moved it out of the anxiety disorders chapter?
- PTSD was reclassified as a dissociative disorder
- PTSD was placed in its own chapter: Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders (Correct answer)
- PTSD was merged with Acute Stress Disorder into one diagnosis
- PTSD was reclassified as a mood disorder
Correct answer: PTSD was placed in its own chapter: Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
In DSM-5, PTSD was moved from the anxiety disorders chapter to its own new chapter titled 'Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders.'
EMDR Trauma & PTSD Diagnostic Criteria 3
Which of the following best describes 'complex PTSD' as conceptualized in the ICD-11?