Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Related Topics
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a set of symptoms which negatively impact thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors after exposure to extreme trauma. 
PTSD can occur based on a single event (e.g., a plane crash or an abduction) or because of repeated incidents (e.g. sexual abuse throughout childhood or long-term participation in armed combat). It can involve physical, emotional, or psychological harm — often it involves some combination of the three. People can also develop PTSD through witnessing or hearing about trauma done to others. This is especially common among helping professionals.
Resource Organizations » Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
14 listing(s), including 2 offering support groups
In Massachusetts
BRIK (Building Resilience in Kids)
www.brikontheweb.org
Harvard, MA 01451
BRIK (Building Resilience in Kids) is a non-profit that runs
programs in schools combining arts, education, and social skills.
MGH Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders
www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/services/anxiety_home.aspx
One Bowdoin Square
6th Floor
Boston, MA 021141-866-449-6779
The Center is investigating the efficacy of treatments for Panic
Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder,
Complicated Grief, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, while seeking
to learn more about the underlying causes and course of Anxiety
Disorders.
National Center for PTSD
The National Center for PTSD is dedicated to excellence in research
and education on the prevention, understanding, and treatment of
PTSD. Its purpose is to improve the well-being and understanding of
veterans and others suffering from PTSD. The website includes the
definition of PTSD, fact sheets on topics related to PTSD, and
information of finding professional help.
National Center for PTSD
www.ptsd.va.gov/about/divisions/womens-health-sciences-division.asp
Women's Health Sciences Division 166B-3
150 South Huntington Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130857-364-4145
The Women's Health Sciences Division located in Boston, MA, focuses
on the special issues of women and PTSD, and especially on
effective treatments. The Division has pioneered research on the
psychological impact of military service on women veterans. Such
initiatives include development of psychological assessment
techniques, the impact of sexual assault and military sexual
trauma, and on the effect of PTSD on women's health and medical
problems. There is also a major focus on treatment dissemination
and training.
Outside Massachusetts
Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA)
The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is a nonprofit
organization whose mission is to promote the prevention, treatment
and cure of anxiety disorders and to improve the lives of all
people who suffer from them. ADAA is dedicated to informing the
public, health care professionals, and media that anxiety disorders
are real, serious, and treatable. ADAA promotes professional and
public awareness of anxiety and related disorders (such as PTSD,
OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety) and their impact on people's
lives. The organization also links people who need treatment with
the health care professionals who provide it. The ADAA website also
provides listings of anxiety disorder support groups offered across
the United States.
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
ISTSS is an international organization that promotes advancement
and exchange of knowledge about severe stress and trauma. This
knowledge includes understanding the scope and consequences of
traumatic exposure, preventing traumatic events and ameliorating
their consequences, and advocating for the field of traumatic
stress. ISTSS is dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of
knowledge about policy, program and service initiatives that seek
to reduce traumatic stressors and their immediate and long-term
consequences. ISTSS provides a forum for the sharing of research,
clinical strategies, public policy concerns and theoretical
formulations on trauma in the United States and around the world.
The ISTSS website provides multimedia information and resources for
the general public on traumatic stress.
National Center for Children Exposed to Violence
www.nccev.org
Child Study Center at Yale University
230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06520Toll Free: 877-496-2238
203-785-7047
It is the mission of the National Center for Children Exposed to
Violence (NCCEV) to increase the capacity of individuals and
communities to reduce the incidence and impact of violence on
children and families; to train and support the professionals who
provide intervention and treatment to children and families
affected by violence; and, to increase professional and public
awareness of the effects of violence on children, families,
communities and society. The NCCEV serves as a national forum for
exploring issues surrounding children's exposure to violence and a
partner in national collaborations across the country in urban,
suburban and rural areas. The NCCEV offers training, technical
assistance and consultation to a variety of collaborative community
programs. It also provides a wide range of specialized
interventions and services. The NCCEV website includes
comprehensive information on children and violence.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
www.nctsnet.org
National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857Established by Congress in 2000, the National Child Traumatic
Stress Network (NCTSN) is a unique collaboration of academic and
community-based service centers whose mission is to raise the
standard of care and increase access to services for traumatized
children and their families across the United States. Combining
knowledge of child development, expertise in the full range of
child traumatic experiences, and attention to cultural
perspectives, the NCTSN serves as a national resource for
developing and disseminating evidence-based interventions,
trauma-informed services, and public and professional education.
The website includes information on the types of traumatic stress
and resources for parents and caregivers whose children are
experiencing traumatic stress.
National Institue of Mental Health: PTSD
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892866-615-6464
The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) topic page by the
National Institute of Mental Health offers information about
disorder, its symptoms, and available treatments. The site features
various publications, research findings, articles, and videos about
PTSD.
National Native Children's Trauma Center
www.nativechildrenstrauma.org
Institute for Educational Research & Service
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812Toll Free: 800-637-4833
The mission of the National Native Childhood Trauma Center is to
address high rates of traumatic stress amongst American
Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children by working under the guidance
of U.S. tribal nations in implementing, adapting and evaluating
trauma interventions. This work requires understanding, respect and
honoring of tribal sovereignty, specific community needs and the
use of traditional healing practices. The goals of the Center are
to significantly increase and disseminate the number of
culturally-relevant, evidence-based interventions for use with
AI/AN children (particularly interventions to be delivered in
schools) and disseminate these interventions nationally, both on
and off reservations and within NCTSN; develop a network of
culturally competent, trained educators, mental health providers,
and law enforcement personnel who can meet the needs of AI/AN
children who experience traumatic stress; and increase the amount
of research detailing the processes through which AI/AN children
experience and cope with traumatic stress.
Sidran Institute
Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute is a nonprofit organization of
international scope that helps people understand, recover from, and
treat traumatic stress (including PTSD), dissociative disorders,
and co-occurring issues, such as addictions, self injury, and
suicidality. The Sidran Institute develops and delivers:
educational programming, resources for treatment, support and
self-help, trauma-informed community and professional collaboration
projects, and publications about trauma and recovery. Their Help
Desk offers guidance, resources, and referrals for trauma
survivors, family members, friends, professionals, and students.
The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD, the
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) is
committed to alleviating the suffering of mental illness by
awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in
scientific research. The BBR Foundation offers news on the research
it funds as well as information (documents and videos) about these
and other disorders in children and adults. It also provides
guidance and resources for families coping with a child or parent
with mental illness.
Trauma Survivors Network
www.traumasurvivorsnetwork.org
Offers support group(s)
TSN National Administrator c/o American Trauma Society
7611 South Osborne Road, Suite 202
Upper Malboro, MD 20772800-556-7890
The Trauma Survivors Network (TSN) is a community of patients and
families who are looking to connect with one another and rebuild
their lives after a serious injury. The TSN is committed to
providing valuable, practical information and referral; connecting
survivors with peer mentors and support groups; enhancing survivor
skills to manage day to day challenges; developing on-line
communities of support and hope for trauma survivors and their
families and friends; and training health care providers to deliver
the best care and support to patients and their families and
friends. Membership in the TSN is free for trauma survivors and
their friends and families.
Worry Wise Kids
This site was launched because of the urgent need to address the
growing needs of our children to be equipped to cope with and
overcome the stress, worry and anxieties in their life. Our mission
is to improve the quality of life for anxious children and their
families by providing parents, educators and mental health
professionals with comprehensive, user-friendly information on the
full range of anxiety disorders. Because children may be secretive
about their worries and suffer in silence, our goal is to help
adults who care about kids to be on the lookout for red flags. We
offer information about treatment options, kid-friendly
explanations for the mechanisms that create and maintain anxiety,
parenting do's and don'ts, how to handle school issues and more.
Additional Sources of Information
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD. A detailed booklet from the National Institute of Mental Health that describes PTSD symptoms, causes, and treatments and includes information on getting help and coping.
- Fact for Families: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This PTSD fact sheet explains how children may experience and show symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- Mayo Clinic: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Mayo Clinic describes the symptoms, causes, risk factors, and treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They also list suggestions for coping and support.
- Symptoms, treatment, and self-help for PTSD.
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America Posttraumatic Stress Disorder brochure. This easy-to-read brochure from the ADAA describes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It also features a PTSD “self-test.”
- New York Times Health Guides:
Disclaimer: Material on the MSPP INTERFACE Referral Service website is intended as general information. It is not a recommendation for treatment, nor should it be considered medical or mental health advice. The MSPP INTERFACE Referral Service urges families to discuss all information and questions related to medical or mental health care with a health care professional.
