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Published on: March 8, 2018
Psychological trauma: psychiatry and the law in conflict
1Department of Psychological Medicine, Sydney University, New South Wales, Australia. tennant@med.usyd.edu.au
Objective:
To contrast the psychiatric and legal construct of psychological trauma, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the reference disorder.
Method:
Literature relevant to DSM-IV PTSD definition of a traumatic event (Criterion A) was assessed. This construct was compared with the current legal status for psychological trauma arising from recent judgements of the Australian High Court.
Conclusions:
The current legal construct of psychological trauma is not only practical and sensible, but is far more evidence-based than the DSM-IV construct of trauma.
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