title: Posttraumatic stress disorder following traumatic injury: narratives as unconscious indicators of psychopathology.
abstract: Current conventional assessment methodologies used to diagnose posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rely heavily on symptom counts obtained from clinical interviews or self-report questionnaires. Such measures may underestimate the impact of traumatic events, particularly in individuals who deny or repress emotional distress. This case report illustrates the use of two methods of narrative analysis to assess unconscious representations of PTSD. Linguistic analysis and a computerized analysis of referential activity were able to capture unconscious aspects of the traumatic experience.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto, California, USA.
authors.forename: Bahar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steiner
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D013811:Psychotherapeutic Processes; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy