Currently, under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is classified within the new category of trauma and stressor-related disorders. PTSD frequently presents with fear and anxiety and most prior research has conceptualized PTSD as an anxiety disorder. This chapter discusses the epidemiological studies on prevalence of both potentially traumatic events and PTSD. It also deals with the natural course of the disorder, risk factors, functioning/impairment, commonly comorbid disorders, and differential diagnosis.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with myriad relationship problems and psychological distress in partners of individuals with PTSD. This study sought to develop a self-report measure of partner accommodation to PTSD (i.e., ways in which partners alter their behavior in response to patient PTSD symptoms), the Significant Others' Responses to Trauma Scale (SORTS), and to investigate its reliability and construct validity in 46 treatment-seeking couples. The SORTS demonstrated strong internal consistency and associations with individual and relationship distress.

We sadly lost our friend and colleague Edward J. (“Fast Eddie”) Frischholz, PhD, at the young age of 58. He died of heart failure, a complication of septic shock. He was a passionate advocate for the field of hypnosis, a tough monitor of its quality, a fine clinician, and an excellent researcher/statistician.

We studied 1,292 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans who participated in a clinical trial of expressive writing to estimate the prevalence of perceived reintegration difficulty and compare Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare users to nonusers in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics. About half of participants perceived reintegration difficulty. VA users and nonusers differed in age and military background. Levels of mental and physical problems were higher in VA users.