Dan J. Stein & Matthew Friedman 
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder 

Despite the growing interest in the role of psychological trauma in
the genesis of psychiatric disorders, few volumes have addressed
these issues from a multidisciplinary and international
perspective. Given the complexity of reslience and posttraumatic
disorder, and given ongoing trauma and violence in many parts of
the world, it is crucial to apply such perspectives to review
existing knowledge in the field and provide directions for future
research.

This book has a broad scope. A key focus is PTSD, because of its
clinical and health importance, its obvious link with trauma, and
its interest for many clinicians and researchers. However, the book
also examines resilience and a range of mental health consequences
of trauma, because it has become increasingly clear that not all
individuals react to trauma in the same way. It is important for
mental health professionals to be aware of the broad range of
potential responses to trauma, as well as of relevant
evidence-based treatments.

The book includes chapters that address a wide range of topics
on trauma-related disorders, including nosology and classification,
epidemiology, neurobiology, pharmacotherapy, and psychotherapy.
Each chapter comprises a critical review of the existing
literature, aimed at being useful for the practitioner. This is
followed by selected commentaries from other authorities on the
topic, representing diverse geographical locations and points of
view, who refine some of the perspectives offered in the review,
provide alternative views, or suggest important areas of future
work.

Table of Content

Preface xi

List of Contributors xv

1 PTSD and Related Disorders 1

Matthew J. Friedman

Commentaries

1.1 Walking the Line in Defining PTSD: Comprehensiveness Versus
Core Features 35

Chris R. Brewin

1.2 Trauma-Related Disorders in the Clinical and Legal Settings
38

Elie G. Karam

1.3 Redefining PTSD in DSM-5: Conundrums and Potentially
Unintended Risks 42

Alexander C. Mc Farlane

2 Epidemiology of PTSD 49

Carlos Blanco

Commentaries

2.1 Challenges and Future Horizons in Epidemiological Research
into PTSD 75

Abdulrahman M. El-Sayed and Sandro Galea

2.2 Preventing Mental Ill-Health Following Trauma 79

Helen Herrman

2.3 PTSD Epidemiology with Particular Reference to Gender
82

Marianne Kastrup

3 Neurobiology of PTSD 89

Arieh Y. Shalev, Asaf Gilboa and Ann M. Rasmusson

Commentaries

3.1 Translational Theory-Driven Hypotheses and Testing Are
Enhancing Our Understanding of PTSD and its Treatment 139

Brian H. Harvey

3.2 Precipitating and design approaches to PTSD 142

Eric Vermetten

4 Pharmacotherapy of PTSD 149

Dan J. Stein and Jonathan C. Ipser

Commentaries

4.1 Critical View of the Pharmacological Treatment of Trauma
163

Marcelo F. Mello

4.2 Shortcomings and Future Directions of the Pharmacotherapy of
PTSD 164

Michael Van Ameringen and Beth Patterson

4.3 Dire Need for New PTSD Pharmacotherapeutics 167

Murray B. Stein

5 Psychological Interventions for Trauma Exposure and PTSD
171

Richard A. Bryant

Commentaries

5.1 Psychological Interventions for PTSD in Children 203

Lucy Berliner

5.2 Challenges in the Dissemination and Implementation of
Exposure-Based CBT for the Treatment of Hispanics with PTSD
205

Rafael Kichic, Mildred Vera, and Maria L.
Reyes-Rabanillo

5.3 What Else Do We Need to Know about Evidence-Based
Psychological Interventions for PTSD? 208

Karina Lovell

5.4 Another Perspective on Exposure Therapy for PTSD 211

Barbara Olasov Rothbaum

6 (Disaster) Public Mental Health 217

Joop de Jong

Commentaries

6.1 An Excellent Model for Low- and Middle-Income Countries
263

Dean Ajdukovic

6.2 Disaster Mental Health and Public Health: An Integrative
Approach to Recovery 266

Suresh Bada Math, Channaveerachari Naveen Kumar and Maria
Christine Nirmala

6.3 Transcultural Aspects of Response to Disasters 272

Tarek A. Okasha

6.4 Disaster Public Health: Health Needs, Psychological First
Aid and Cultural Awareness 275

Robert J. Ursano, Matthew N. Goldenberg, Derrick Hamaoka and
David M. Benedek

Index 281

About the author

Dan J. Stein, MD, Ph D, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

Matthew J. Friedman, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, and Executive Director, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, US Department of Veterans Affairs, USA

Carlos Blanco, MD, Ph D, Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA