Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
Different, Yet Commonly Confused Disorders
It is important that providers are mindful of the fact that very different mental illnesses can present similar features in a clinical setting. According to Theodore A. Henderson’s article, “TBI and PTSD Appear Similar but Treatments Must Differ,” confusion between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is particularly common among providers treating military personnel and veterans. This is exacerbated by the fact that the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale contains many symptoms which exhibit features of PTSD, making diagnosis for providers which rely upon such instruments very challenging. An estimated 73% of veterans with TBI also have PTSD. Yet even civilians may receive inappropriate diagnoses, as the anxiety and trauma reported after a car accident may be diagnosed as PTSD even though it is actually caused by a TBI.
There are significant risks in confused diagnosis for both disorders. It is not simply that correct diagnosis can delay treatment. In fact, the classes of drugs used for PTSD such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors and benzodiazepines may be inappropriate for TBI, particularly benzodiazepines which may exacerbate the TBI patient’s symptoms. There are indications that brain scans may be useful in differentiating the two disorders, but psychiatrists are often resistant to using them. Treatment for both disorders are becoming further refined, including the use of infrared light...
Works Cited
Henderson, Theodore A. “TBI and PTSD Appear Similar but Treatments Must Differ.” Addiction Professional, 15.1 (2017), 32-37.
Knopf, Alison. “TBI ‘Sequelae’ Require Special Care by Behavioral Health Providers.” Behavioral Healthcare, 32.4 (2012), 42
PTSD as TBI Introduction Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) bear similar appearances in terms of symptoms. However, treating the two issues requires completely different methods and interventions and therefore it is important to be able to tell the two problems apart. However, as the symptoms are sometimes indistinguishable a thorough and complete understanding of both is necessary so that a health care provider can make an appropriate
, 2010). This point is also made by Yehuda, Flory, Pratchett, Buxbaum, Ising and Holsboer (2010), who report that early life stress can also increase the risk of developing PTSD and there may even be a genetic component involved that predisposes some people to developing PTSD. Studies of Vietnam combat veterans have shown that the type of exposure variables that were encountered (i.e., severe personal injury, perceived life threat, longer duration,
Trauma-Related Disorders and Recommended Treatment Clinical Presentation of Trauma-Related Disorders and Recommended Treatments On January 13, 2015, Andrew Brannan, a 66-year-old Vietnam veteran was executed in Georgia for killing police officer Kyle Dinkheller in 1998 (Hoffman, 2015). At the time, Brannan had been living in a bunker on his mother's property without water or electricity and had stopped taking his medications. According to the Veterans Administration (VA), he was 100% disabled due
Veterans & Retirees; Is Government Keeping its Promise This study aimed at exploring the experiences and perceptions of Veterans belonging to Lousiana and Mississippi about three variables; the accessibility of organization; the accessibility of benefits and availability and adequacy of the facilities being provided by government through VA. The respondents were also asked to suggest whether there is a need for improvement and what should VA do to provide benefits and
The subjects were 613 injured Army personnel Military Deployment Services TF Report 13 admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from March 2003 to September 2004 who were capable of completing the screening battery. Soldiers were assessed at approximately one month after injury and were reassessed at four and seven months either by telephone interview or upon return to the hospital for outpatient treatment. Two hundred and forty-three soldiers
Pedagogic Model for Teaching of Technology to Special Education Students Almost thirty years ago, the American federal government passed an act mandating the availability of a free and appropriate public education for all handicapped children. In 1990, this act was updated and reformed as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which itself was reformed in 1997. At each step, the goal was to make education more equitable and more accessible to
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now