Perspective Chapter: Trauma and Depression – An Overview about Comorbidity

Abstract

There are various types of trauma, some of which can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): they are those involving death, or the threat of death, or serious injury, or the threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others. PTSD often appears associated with other disorders such as depression anxiety disorders and dissociation, and trauma can also increase the possibility that depression and anxiety become autonomous. However, it has long been observed that depression is the disorder that occurs most frequently associated with PTSD. This theme was also explored for the age groups under 18. The need to take into account the complexity of post-traumatic stress disorder and possible comorbidity was then underlined, therefore the use of multiple diagnoses is a valuable element. The diagnosis of PTSD, like that of depression, is a complex diagnosis, articulated on multiple phenomenological levels and it is therefore important in the diagnosis to have clear knowledge of the syndromic grouping of these disorders. The topic of psychodiagnostics was therefore introduced in this area. Finally, the therapeutic objectives common to the various orientations in the treatment of traumatized adults were exposed, and it was specified that the future of research in the field of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy can no longer be represented by a sterile struggle for its affirmation but turns toward the study the best integration of the two approaches.