Diagnosis
309.81, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with dissociative symptoms.
Relevant V Codes
V15.41 - Personal history (past history) of sexual abuse in childhood; V61.10 - Relationship distress with spouse or intimate partner; V71.02 – Child or adolescent antisocial behavior
Rationale:
Jocelyn was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with dissociative symptoms. After being raped by her English TA, Jocelyn immediately started exhibiting signs of PTSD (see below). She experienced vivid images of violent crimes while doing everyday things, like reading her English textbook, and she experienced nightmares every night about men trying to harm her. She would avoid walking alone to the library and tried to avoid sleep so she wouldn’t have to experience nightmares. She also avoided her English TA whenever she saw him. She started to blame herself for what happened and began to feel guilty and ashamed. She began to feel estranged from her boyfriend and her friends and felt that she couldn’t trust anyone. Additionally, she experienced exaggerated startle responses and could not concentrate in school. This led to her starting to dissociate from herself, prompting me to ultimately diagnose her with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with dissociative symptoms. I originally believed Jocelyn had Acute Stress Disorder, however symptoms typically last for at least 3 days and up to a month and her symptoms were still ongoing after 2 months (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). …show more content…
Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one (or more) of the following ways:
a. Directly experiencing the traumatic