Review of psychological trauma: theory, practice, policy and research

We present a concise state-of-the-art review of psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for mental health practitioners. This article is also set to present the nature of traumatic incidents, their common presentation, their disruptions to normal psychological and biological functioning, and the negative health care impact of untreated incidents. Originally, the trauma response to extreme life events and PTSD was conceptualized as normal responses to overwhelming situations. However, in the last few years, there has been an increase in the acceptance of the idea that exposure to a traumatic situation/stimulus may not be sufficient to explain the development of PTSD. In addition, the individual vulnerability factors play a significant role in understanding this condition. In principle, this paper also focuses on the associative relationship between social support and psychological trauma because of methodological review. Hence, due to the paucity of such types of studies, this review starts with the findings and different aspects considered on the nature of social support, and then the general outcomes of this association. Furthermore, the relationship between support and human physiology is also presented. To further strengthen the objectives in review, the methodological issues and limitations are discussed in each section. Finally, this review article concludes the evaluation of the research specific to psychological trauma and social support in the field of combat, sexual abuse, and battering.