Guidelines for Treatment of PTSD

These treatment guidelines were developed under the auspices of the PTSD Treatment Guidelines Task Force established by the Board of Directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) in November 1997. Our goal was to develop a set of treatment guidelines based on an extensive review of the clinical and research literature prepared by experts in one field. The book by Foa, Keane, and Friedman consists of two parts. The first comprises the position papers that describe the salient literature; the second, the much briefer treatment guidelines. These guidelines are intended to inform the clinician on what we determined were the best practices in the treatment of individuals with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a serious psychological condition that occurs as a result of experiencing a traumatic event. The symptoms that characterize PTSD are reliving the traumatic event or frightening elements of it; avoidance of thoughts, memories, people, and places associated with the event; emotional numbing; and symptoms of elevated arousal. Often accompanied by other psychological disorders, PTSD is a complex condition that can be associated with significant morbidity, disability, and impairment of life functions. In the development of these practice guidelines, the Task Force acknowledged that traumatic experiences can lead to the development of several different disorders, including major depression, specific phobias, disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS), personality disorders such as borderline anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. Yet the focus of these guidelines is specifically on the treatment of PTSD and its symptoms as defined in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association (1994).