APA/ISSTD new guideline - Working with adults with complex trauma histories

The APA/ISSTD guidelines for working with adults with histories of complex trauma has come out.

! BOOM ! YES !

Thank you Joseph Spinazzola for sharing this work with us;

Thank you to the whole team; you all guys are making a real [silencing my energetic adjectives] difference.

I read the whole document and felt such joy and relief to finally have officially written and recognised as new guidelines what is so important to know about complex psychological trauma !

I am here copying below the summary and conclusion of this major work and would encourage all professionals who work in the care field: therapists, doctors . . . and those who are responsable to train future psychologists, psychotherapists to read the whole document as this work is major and sharply documented with the latest knowledge from experienced clinicians and researchers in the field of trauma and complex trauma.

Here is the APA document, August 2024: APA/ISSTD guidelines

*** Summary and Conclusion ***

'Limitations exist to narrowly defining trauma as a physical event in terms of death, serious injury, or sexual violence, and in situations of an extremely threatening or horrific nature. These limitations relate to: (1) category heterogeneity (i.e., not all types of traumatic events are the same); (2) inattention to contextual factors (i.e., not all traumatic events occur under the same circumstances); (3) exclusion of psychological trauma from the definition (i.e., not all traumatic events are physical in nature); and (4) overemphasizing specific diagnoses that inadvertently lead to a failure to recognize trauma as a possible transdiagnostic risk factor forvirtually all presenting problems seen in general professional practice. Further, whereas complex trauma may have been previously understood as a categorical distinction from other kinds of trauma, the complexity of trauma histories may be better understood along a continuum, from non-interpersonal, accidental (and thus ethically neutral) circumstances that occurred only once in life, to repeated, intentional, immoral transgressions that occurred within close relationships from an early age and throughout life, as well as across generations and whole cultures. Psychologists may utilize the acronym HISTORY as a memory prompt for the current seven guidelines when providing interventions, care, and support to persons who have experienced transdiagnostic mental health problems in response to complex trauma histories. The guidelines regard: (1) Humanistic, (2) Integrative, (3) Sequential, (4) Temporal, (5) Outcomes-focused, and (6) Relational principles, while assisting clients’ in understanding (7) Why the traumatic events occurred. Through application of these guidelines, psychologists aspire to support their clients in seeking resilience, recovery and growth following their experience of complex trauma.'

Project Contributors

Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP (chair)

Paul Frewen, PhD, C. Psych (co-chair)

Peter M. Barach, PhD

Bethany Brand, PhD

James Chu, MD

Marylene Cloitre, PhD

Constance Dalenberg, PhD

Nel Draijer, PhD

Victoria Follette, PhD

Julian D. Ford, PhD

Judith L. Herman, MD

Philip Kinsler, PhD

Ibrahim Kira, PhD

Andreas Laddis, MD

Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD

Sandra Paivio, PhD, C. Psych

Laurie A. Pearlman, PhD

Nnamdi Pole, PhD

Francine Shapiro, PhD

Joseph Spinazzola, PhD

Kathy Steele, RN, MSN

Joan A. Turkus, MD

With the assistance of

Ben Bao, PhD

Shannon Beattie, MPH

Alisa Breetz, PhD

Jenney Zhu, BA