Background, controversies, and misuse of post traumatic stress disorder diagnostic criteria: A review

Pages: 400-406
Bidisha Banerjee (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh)
Bidisha Banerjee (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh)

The present paper provides the historical background of inclusion of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and six interconnected phases have been identified. The paper also highlighted the controversies regarding PTSD diagnostic criteria along with its misuses. Moreover, the paper discusses the inapplicability of PTSD diagnosis criteria to different cultural and social context and tries to advocate the necessity of an alternative approach of research to understand the reality of trauma and its victim. By providing five exemplary works which have portrayed trauma differently from the traditional views, this paper tries to highlight the limitations of bio-medical model in non-western context.