NRNP-6645 Week 9 Assignment: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
It is estimated that more almost 7% of the U.S. population will experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). This debilitating disorder often interferes with an individual’s ability to function in daily life. Common symptoms of anxiousness and depression frequently lead to behavioral issues, adolescent substance abuse issues, and even physical ailments. For this Assignment, you examine a PTSD video case study and consider how you might assess and treat clients presenting with PTSD.
To prepare:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide about diagnosing and treating PTSD.
- View the media Presentation Example: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and assess the client in the case study.
- For guidance on assessing the client, refer to Chapter 3 of the Wheeler text.
Note: To complete this Assignment, you must assess the client, but you are not required to submit a formal comprehensive client assessment.
The Assignment
Succinctly, in 1–2 pages, address the following:
- Briefly explain the neurobiological basis for PTSD illness.
- Discuss the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for PTSD and relate these criteria to the symptomology presented in the case study. Does the video case presentation provide sufficient information to derive a PTSD diagnosis? Justify your reasoning. Do you agree with the other diagnoses in the case presentation? Why or why not?
- Discuss one other psychotherapy treatment option for the client in this case study. Explain whether your treatment option is considered a “gold standard treatment” from a clinical practice guideline perspective, and why using gold standard, evidence-based treatments from clinical practice guidelines is important for psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners.
Support your Assignment with specific examples from this week’s media and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.
Solution: NRNP-6645 Week 9 Assignment: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Neurobiological Basis for PTSD Illness
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arises from neurobiological changes that occur as a result of experiencing or witnessing traumatic events. When faced with trauma, the brain undergoes structural and functional adaptations in regions involved in processing fear responses, regulating emotions, and encoding memories. Chief among these is diminished inhibitory control between the amygdala (AM) and areas that typically regulate it like the anterior cingulate cortex (aCC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) (Toledo & Carson, 2022). The aCC-AM system becomes hyperactivated, impairing the extinction of fear memories. Hyperactivation of the AM also disrupts top-down control from the PFC and aCC, leading to exaggerated reactions to triggers. Over time, chronic hyperactivation causes atrophy in these regions like the aCC, PFC, hippocampus, and insular cortex (Toledo & Carson, 2022). It also dysregulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, causing elevated stress responses. Smaller hippocampal and PFC volumes may increase vulnerability by reducing neuroplasticity and impairing contextual processing of threats. Together, these neurobiological changes undermine adaptive behaviors by facilitating learned fear responses instead of logical appraisal of risk. They likely form a self-reinforcing cycle over time via glucocorticoid toxicity and disrupted neurotrophin levels, progressively worsening symptoms like intrusive memories and hypervigilance as the structure and function of fear-regulation circuits become permanently altered in PTSD (Toledo & Carson, 2022).
DSM-5-TR Diagnostic Criteria and Case Study
The DSM-5-TR specific diagnostic criteria for PTSD that must be met to warrant a diagnosis. Criterion A requires direct or indirect exposure to a traumatic event involving threat of death, serious injury or sexual violence. Criterion B concerns intrusive symptoms like distressing memories, dreams or dissociative reactions to trauma reminders. Criterion C pertains to avoidance of internal and external trauma-related stimuli. Criterion D covers negative alterations in cognitions and mood that emerged after the trauma, such as distorted blame, negative trauma-….Please click purchase button below to get full answer for $10