Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was invented as a diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association with the publication in 1980 of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III). In the United States and elsewhere, the DSM serves as a common language and standard criteria for classifying behavioral health problems following traumatic events, primarily by professionals attempting to clarify the diagnosis with individuals and populations. Professions, as a result, have an additional tool for comparing individuals' and groups' psychosocial functioning following traumatic events to determine how best to help. Helping those with PTSD varies greatly among practitioners, as does the measurement of PTSD.

The DSM has been revised five times since it was first published in 1952. PTSD is also noted in another common ...