Understanding PTSD

A short, self-paced course about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The content of this course serves as an excellent foundation to our other courses on the treatment of clients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Experiencing a traumatic event can put anyone at risk of developing mental health problems. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, while not the most common outcome, is often considered the signature trauma-related mental health disorder. Understanding PTSD, and its relationship to other common mental health problems that can develop after trauma, is essential when working with individuals exposed to trauma in their lifetime.

This course is designed for mental health clinicians who wish to build their knowledge about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It will also be valuable to individuals working with or supporting those diagnosed with PTSD. In both cases, building knowledge about the condition will allow you to better understand and respond to the needs of your clients.

By completing this course, you will: 

• Better understand PTSD; its diagnostic criteria, prevalence, gender differences, comorbidities and commonly associated problems, and course,
• Understand common causal theories of PTSD, 
• Increase your knowledge of the 'first line', evidence-based treatments for PTSD, and 
• Consider the relevance and application of this information in your professional practice. 

This course sits at the start of a sequence on treating PTSD with Trauma-focussed CBT. It is followed by a course on assessing clients and formulating a case, and then by two courses on understanding and implementing Trauma-focussed CBT.