Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

A report from the Institute of Medicine, commissioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs, has affirmed that guidelines for diagnosing and assessing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Volume IV, are legitimate.

This finding would seem to be obvious, but it represents a victory for veterans groups, who had viewed the VA's request for the report as an attempt to undermine veterans' PTSD-related disability claims. (Click here for background from VA Watchdog's Larry Scott.)

Here is the IOM statement:

At the request of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Institute of Medicine conducted a study on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The committee reviewed and commented on the diagnosis and assessment of PTSD and known risk factors for its development.

The committee found that PTSD is a well characterized medical disorder and that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria for diagnosing PTSD are evidence-based, widely accepted, and widely used.

According to the committee’s report, PTSD should be diagnosed and assessed by a health professional with experience in diagnosing psychiatric disorders (e.g., primary care physicians, nurses, social workers) using the DSM-IV criteria. Ideally, this diagnosis should take place in a private setting with a face-to-face interview that can last an hour or more.

Additionally, while screening and diagnostic instruments might help in the diagnosis and assessment of PTSD, these tools cannot substitute for an evaluation by an experienced professional.

The committee wrote that because all veterans deployed to a war zone are at risk for the development of PTSD, it would be prudent for health professionals to query veterans about their wartime experiences and their symptoms, when presenting at primary care and other health facilities (inpatient or outpatient).