About 6.8% of adults will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime. But what happens after that first diagnosis?

PTSD is a complex mental health concern that requires careful treatment. Many people with PTSD fully recover, but some require treatment for the rest in their lives. With that in mind, it’s critical to find a care team you trust when you’re starting on the PTSD journey. 

In this article, Ability Central addresses your immediate concerns after a PTSD diagnosis by answering the following questions:

• How do I find a specialist who helps with PTSD?
• How can loved ones support and effectively communicate with someone who has PTSD?
• What mental health issues often accompany PTSD?
• What are the cognitive challenges of living with PTSD?
• What treatments are available for PTSD?
• Where can I get more information about PTSD?

How do I find a specialist who helps with PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a collection of mental health symptoms that appear in response to severe trauma. Symptoms like anxiety, depression, unwanted memories, or flashbacks can be mild or severe. 

Different types of PTSD require different kinds of care. The more severe the case, the more professionals may need to be involved. To learn more about PTSD types and symptoms, see Trauma Responses: Symptoms and Types of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

 A care team for PTSD may include any combination of the following specialists.

• A psychiatrist for diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of mental health disorders. 
• An advanced practical psychiatric nurse (APRN) who is trained in mental health. The APRN can also be the primary caregiver working under the supervision of a psychiatrist.
• A psychologist or licensed clinical therapist offers talk therapy that can help people control or eliminate PTSD symptoms.
• A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) can help people individually or in groups. An LCSW can also act as a case manager to help you connect with housing and food assistance.

If you have private health insurance through an employer or family member, your insurance company can help you find in-network providers experienced in PTSD treatment. For veterans their families, local VA services may be able to help. 

If you’re not sure where to start, Ability Central offers a Service Locator tool to help you build your care team. 

How can loved ones support and effectively communicate with someone who has PTSD?

PTSD can create major communication challenges for a person facing trauma and their loved ones. 

Many people with PTSD struggle to talk about their trauma, while their loved ones struggle knowing what to say without mentioning their PTSD triggers. Some people with PTSD have intense reactions to seemingly minor conflict, and others feel disconnected from the people and the world around them. 

Communication is key to showing people with PTSD that they are not alone. Coping with trauma takes time and treatment, and the best way to support someone with PTSD is with patience, love, and understanding.

If a loved one has been diagnosed with PTSD, you can support them in the following ways.

• Provide support without offering unsolicited advice.
• Don't pressure them to talk unless they want to. When they do talk, be a good listener.
• Be patient with them.
• Try not to take PTSD symptoms personally. 
• Educate yourself about PTSD. Ability Central’s quick guide to PTSD, PTSD symptom overview, and PTSD long-term resources are great places to start. 
• Don’t tell them they were lucky that the traumatic event wasn’t worse.
• Help create routines to make daily life more consistent.
• Emphasize the person’s strengths.
• Once you understand the person’s triggers, try to minimize them.
• Support their treatment.
• When you can, consider taking on a larger share of household chores or other responsibilities while they focus on treatment.
• Take care of yourself. See Navigating the Long-term Challenges of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Finances and Support Options for support group suggestions, including support groups for families and loved ones.

What mental health issues often accompany PTSD?

Some mental health issues are either confused with PTSD or co-exist with it. For example:

• PTSD and substance use disorder (SUD) are commonly linked. There are high rates of SUD with PTSD because PTSD is a risk factor for developing SUD, and SUD is a risk factor for developing PTSD.
• PTSD and depression often co-occur. 
• PTSD and anxiety disorder often co-exist. Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

What are the cognitive challenges of living with PTSD?

PTSD can also co-exist with cognitive disorders. Cognitive challenges associated with PTSD include:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI), which occurs from a blow or jolt to the head. This is not uncommon in active military combat.
• Neurocognitive disorder (NCD), a group of disorders that involve cognitive impairment. Dementia is included in the NCD diagnosis. While dementia is more common among people with PTSD, researchers believe that the TBI associated with PTSD is the cause rather than PTSD leading to dementia.
• Borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is also common among people with PTSD.

What treatments are available for PTSD?

There are multiple PTSD therapy and PTSD treatment options.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a type of CBT that helps people learn how to challenge and change unhelpful beliefs about their trauma.
• Prolonged exposure therapy teaches people to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and situations by facing what has been avoided.
• Brief eclectic psychotherapy focuses on changing the emotions of shame and guilt.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy asks someone to make specific eye movements while focusing on aspects of the trauma. This can help people process trauma and better cope with day-to-day symptoms.
• Narrative exposure therapy (NET) helps people understand how their trauma fits into their overall life experience.
• Medications like antidepressants, antianxiety medications, and medications for mood disorders may also be used. Generally, these are prescribed alongside regular therapy and certain lifestyle changes. 
• PTSD service dogs or dogs with specialized PTSD training can also be a life-changing option for people with PTSD. These dogs are trained to ground their owners during flashbacks with nudges or licks, bring them medication, create personal space in crowded areas, wake people up from nightmares, and find other people if their person needs help.

Some people with the most severe cases of PTSD benefit from group or individual therapy in treatment facilities that specialize in trauma care. To learn more, see Navigating the Long-term Challenges of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Finances and Support Options.

Where can I get more information about PTSD? 

To learn more about PTSD, contact your family doctor for a consultation. You can also educate yourself further with these resources from Ability Central:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Causes, Types, and Communication Impacts
• Trauma Responses: Symptoms and Types of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Navigating the Long-term Challenges of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Finances and Support Options