title: Post-traumatic reactions to psychosis in people with multiple psychotic episodes.
abstract: Psychotic symptoms, coercive interventions, and other negative treatment experiences have been found to lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, prior research has not examined the importance of the DSM-IV A1 (perception of threat) and A2 (negative emotion at time of event) criteria for a traumatic event due to a psychotic episode. To address this question, 50 clients with a history of multiple episodes of psychosis were interviewed to identify distressing experiences related to past episodes, with PTSD assessed (including A1/A2 criteria) related to those events, and other psychiatric symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and coping style. Participants reported intense distress related to psychotic symptoms (66%), treatment experiences (25%), and their combination (8%), with 69% meeting symptom criteria for PTSD (excluding A1/A2 criteria), and 31% meeting full diagnostic criteria for PTSD (including A1/A2 criteria). Clients meeting symptom criteria for PTSD, as well as those meeting full diagnostic criteria for PTSD were similar, with both groups reporting more severe symptoms and distress, and more problems in daily functioning, than clients with fewer or no PTSD symptoms. The results are similar to a previous study of PTSD in persons with recent onset of psychosis (Mueser et al., 2010), and suggest that individuals with PTSD symptoms related to psychosis and coercive treatment may benefit from interventions designed to help them integrate their experiences into their lives and reduce PTSD symptoms, regardless of whether the triggering event(s) meet DSM-IV A1/A2 criteria for a traumatic event.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Scotch Plains, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Weili
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Kim T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Mueser
authors.forename: Aysha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shami
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siglag
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Petrides
authors.forename: Elyse
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schoepp
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Putts
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saltz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult