[Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder]

Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological traumas, whose cares are complex, need to be furthermore clarified since they recently became a major public health issue in the wake of the terrorists' attacks that struck France over the past three years. It is its temporality since the event which will determine the type of disorder which might appear thus its adequate processing treatment. In the short term, in the context of collective events or disasters, treatments of psychological suffering by the Medico-Psychological Units (CUMP) are very specific by combining sorting out and direct health care to the victims as well as indirect care such as crisis management. For the health practitioner, a precise knowledge of the disorders which might appear at the early stage, prior to the onset of PTSD, is mandatory. Likewise, approaching a patient with a high emotional load requires specific skills. This is about establishing a real therapeutic alliance with the patient, key factor to prevent a more embedded pathology. Medical treatments at this stage are yet sparsely codified. When pathology is confirmed, post-traumatic stress disorders together with the existence of potential comorbidity (depression, addiction, etc.) require specialized care. Targeted psychotherapies are the first-line treatments, often combined with medical treatments (SSRI antidepressants, for instance) depending on the symptom's seriousness. Sleep disorders, likely conditioning the pathology, will require heightened vigilance. In any case, medication should be adapted to the patient. Similarly, elements of relational approach, any advice, or other health lifestyle rules together with referral to more specific cares, should be individualised.