Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsScreening and CriteriaPTSD TestsSelf/At-Home TestingPTSD SubtypesNext StepsNext in PTSD GuideComplex PSTD: Symptoms and Treatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Screening and Criteria
PTSD Tests
Self/At-Home Testing
PTSD Subtypes
Next Steps
Next in PTSD Guide
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that develops after a person experiences a shocking, terrifying, or overwhelming event. PTSD symptoms usually begin within three months of the traumatic incident, but sometimes they begin years afterward.
PTSD is diagnosed through a series of steps that include clinical tests and professional screenings. Several at-home tests can also help you assess your symptoms. It’s important for those who suspect that they have PTSD to work with a mental health provider who’s experienced with the condition to get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
This article will discuss how PTSD is diagnosed, including the different clinical tests and assessments that can be used to get you help.
Verywell / Ellen Lindner
Professional Screenings and Criteria for PTSD
A primary care physician does the initial screening. They may then refer their patient to a licensed mental health professional who can provide an official diagnosis of PTSD. An initial screening may involve questions about emotional states, sleep issues, and anger, as well as lab tests to rule out physical conditions that could be causing PTSD symptoms.
A mental health professional will use the diagnostic criteria inThe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition(DSM-5) to determine whether a person has PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD fall into four categories:
To be diagnosed with PTSD, an adult must have all of the following for at least one month:
These symptoms must also cause significant distress or problems with the individual’s daily functioning.
Symptoms of PTSD in children and teens may not be the same as in adults. In addition to typical symptoms of PTSD, children may have regression such as wetting the bed after having learned to use the toilet, being unable to talk, acting out the scary event during playtime, and being unusually clingy with a parent or another adult.
PTSD Symptoms in Women
Tests for Diagnosing PTSD
A number of assessment tools are used to diagnose PTSD.
CAPS-5
The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) is a standard test used to diagnose PTSD.This is a 30-item questionnaire that clinicians use to better understand the patient’s experience with PTSD.
The goal of CAPS-5 is to establish whether a person can be diagnosed with PTSD. It is also used to assess whether this condition has been present throughout a person’s life or within the past month. Additionally, this assessment is used to analyze symptoms the patient has experienced over the previous week.
Specifically, these questions explore:
This interview takes roughly an hour to complete, follows a detailed scoring system, and determines to what extent the severity of the symptoms impacts an individual’s daily life.
Treatment-Outcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale (TOP-8)
The TOP-8 is also an interview-based assessment tool that uses the DSM-5 to understand and evaluate symptoms. This scale includes eight questions drawn from the core symptom groups associated with PTSD, which include intrusion, avoidance, and numbing.
PTSD Symptom Scale Interview (PSS-I and PSS-I-5)
The PSS-I is a 17-item assessment tool that asks patients to identify a singular traumatic event that they believe is causing their symptoms. Symptoms from the past two weeks are identified and assessed as they relate to the DSM-5 diagnosis criteria.
The PSS-I-5 contains 24 questions, with 20 focusing on symptoms and four focusing on symptom distress, interference, onset, and duration.
Self/At-Home Testing for PTSD
A person who thinks they may have PTSD can also assess their symptoms using a number of at-home tests. However, it’s important to remember that only a licensed mental health professional can make adiagnosis of PTSD.
The Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS)
The Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) is a self-assessment that people can use to screen themselves for PTSD. This test uses a four-item scale called SPAN that looks at four key areas involved in PTSD: startle, physiological arousal, anger, and emotional numbness. This test has 17 items and asks the person taking it to rate the severity of each symptom across the SPAN categories.
PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
In addition to supporting self-assessment with PTSD, it can also be used after a diagnosis to monitor symptoms. Thus, it acts as a tool for diagnosis and assessing symptoms to understand improvement.
Short PTSD Rating Interview (SPRINT)
The Short PTSD Rating Interview, or SPRINT, can be used to assess main PTSD symptoms.It looks at eight proven PTSD symptom categories, including intrusion, avoidance, numbing, arousal, somatic malaise, stress vulnerability, and role and social impairment.
Recent research suggests that there may be four main subtypes of PTSD.The goal of differentiating these is to allow a better understanding of treatment methods and how different subtypes better respond to unique treatments.
This research outlines the following subtypes:
What to Do if You Are Diagnosed With PTSD
If you suspect you have PTSD after doing at-home self-assessments, it is important to seek care from a healthcare provider. People who can help with a PTSD diagnosis include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Treatment for PTSDis available and may include psychotherapy, medication, or a mix of the two. Novel treatments for PTSD, such aspsychedelic therapy, are under investigation.
Summary
If you are diagnosed with PTSD, several different types of therapies can help treat PTSD and help you manage symptoms.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychiatric Association.What is posttraumatic stress disorder?National Institute on Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.Weathers FW, Bovin MJ, Lee DJ, Sloan DM, Schnurr PP, Kaloupek DG, Keane TM, Marx BP.The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5): Development and initial psychometric evaluation in military veterans.Psychol Assess.2018;30(3):383-395. doi:10.1037/pas0000486Blevins CA, Weathers FW, Davis MT, Witte TK, Domino JL.The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): development and initial psychometric evaluation.J Trauma Stress.2015;28(6):489-98. doi:10.1002/jts.22059American Psychological Association.PTSD Assessment Instruments.Campbell SB, Trachik B, Goldberg S, Simpson TL.Identifying PTSD symptom typologies: a latent class analysis.Psychiatry Res. 2020 Mar;285:112779. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112779
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychiatric Association.What is posttraumatic stress disorder?National Institute on Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.Weathers FW, Bovin MJ, Lee DJ, Sloan DM, Schnurr PP, Kaloupek DG, Keane TM, Marx BP.The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5): Development and initial psychometric evaluation in military veterans.Psychol Assess.2018;30(3):383-395. doi:10.1037/pas0000486Blevins CA, Weathers FW, Davis MT, Witte TK, Domino JL.The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): development and initial psychometric evaluation.J Trauma Stress.2015;28(6):489-98. doi:10.1002/jts.22059American Psychological Association.PTSD Assessment Instruments.Campbell SB, Trachik B, Goldberg S, Simpson TL.Identifying PTSD symptom typologies: a latent class analysis.Psychiatry Res. 2020 Mar;285:112779. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112779
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Psychiatric Association.What is posttraumatic stress disorder?National Institute on Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.Weathers FW, Bovin MJ, Lee DJ, Sloan DM, Schnurr PP, Kaloupek DG, Keane TM, Marx BP.The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5): Development and initial psychometric evaluation in military veterans.Psychol Assess.2018;30(3):383-395. doi:10.1037/pas0000486Blevins CA, Weathers FW, Davis MT, Witte TK, Domino JL.The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): development and initial psychometric evaluation.J Trauma Stress.2015;28(6):489-98. doi:10.1002/jts.22059American Psychological Association.PTSD Assessment Instruments.Campbell SB, Trachik B, Goldberg S, Simpson TL.Identifying PTSD symptom typologies: a latent class analysis.Psychiatry Res. 2020 Mar;285:112779. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112779
American Psychiatric Association.What is posttraumatic stress disorder?
National Institute on Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Weathers FW, Bovin MJ, Lee DJ, Sloan DM, Schnurr PP, Kaloupek DG, Keane TM, Marx BP.The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5): Development and initial psychometric evaluation in military veterans.Psychol Assess.2018;30(3):383-395. doi:10.1037/pas0000486
Blevins CA, Weathers FW, Davis MT, Witte TK, Domino JL.The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): development and initial psychometric evaluation.J Trauma Stress.2015;28(6):489-98. doi:10.1002/jts.22059
American Psychological Association.PTSD Assessment Instruments.
Campbell SB, Trachik B, Goldberg S, Simpson TL.Identifying PTSD symptom typologies: a latent class analysis.Psychiatry Res. 2020 Mar;285:112779. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112779
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