Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders and Dissociative Disorders

Individuals experience many stressors (natural disasters, accidents, crimes, interpersonal violence) that can negatively impact the emotional regulatory system of any person. Though trauma can be both physical and mental, keep in mind that while the physical issues usually heal, the emotional psychological scars last much longer. Think about the times in your life when sudden, unexpected situations and experiences have occurred. These can include experiences such as automobile accidents or being bullied, threatened, or assaulted. Military service members experience this in combat situations.

The fight-or-flight response is activated, and for a time, one is on heightened alert and guarded, so another trauma does not occur. The body’s sympathetic nervous system is activated, and stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, and epinephrine) are released.  This is what is called the “fight or flight response”.   You will likely see many clients experiencing acute or chronic stress reactions, and it is important to recognize these symptoms, normalize them in terms of biology and functioning and work to reduce the suffering and impact caused by them.

Now, imagine someone who experiences trauma in a family that may have included repeated physical or sexual abuse in their formative years. The fight-or-flight response becomes the norm for many of these clients, and other symptoms may develop like a dissociative coping style. Stress reactions often occur on a continuum of severity, and most people can recover from single-instance traumas—unless they are unusually horrific. Being in traumatic environments and experiencing and re-experiencing trauma for years damages those emotional regulatory systems, and the person may develop other symptoms and conditions, including mood changes, hypervigilance, substance use, and misuse as well as impaired functioning in primary relationships.

Please be aware that some of the experiences you are exposed to for this assignment may cause you to have your own reaction, e.g., sadness, anger, or anguish. This is not unusual—after all, MFTs are human, too. It is considered a secondary traumatic reaction. Engage in good self-care if this feeling stays with you. That good self-care can include a walk, exercise, reading a good book, or talking to a friend. Do not be alarmed if you are impacted by the material.

This week, you will focus your attention on reviewing, understanding, and applying the diagnostic information concerning trauma- and stressor-related disorders based on the DSM-5.

Weekly Resources and Assignments

Review the resources from the Course Resources link, located in the top navigation bar, to prepare for this week’s assignments. The resources may include textbook reading assignments, journal articles, websites, links to tools or software, videos, handouts, rubrics, etc.