[Simple and complex post-traumatic stress disorders. Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches]

The prevalence rates of post-traumatic stress disorders are high in the general population (5-10%). The main diagnostic criteria include the experience of an event of extraordinary threat and the persistence of specific symptoms such as intrusion, avoidance, and physiological hyperarousal. Long-lasting traumata may lead to the development of complex syndromes or irreversible personality alterations. Chronic manifestations, psychiatric comorbidities, and psychosocial deficits are special risks in the course of post-traumatic stress disorders. Severe traumata are associated with complex neurobiological changes. Psychotherapeutic approaches are established as a three-stage model: stabilisation, trauma reorientation, and psychosocial reintegration. The additional use of psychotropic drugs should be oriented to the specific symptomatology.