You do not have to tell everything at once
A first assessment can establish what happened in broad terms, current symptoms, safety and goals. Detailed retelling is not a requirement for being taken seriously.
Trauma · PTSD · safety and recovery
Trauma-Informed Assessment and PTSD Care
A difficult or frightening experience does not automatically lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. Assessment looks at the pattern, duration and impact of symptoms, while also considering depression, panic, grief, sleep problems, substance use, dissociation and physical injury.
A structured approach
Treatment begins with choice and safety
PTSD has a particular pattern
Intrusive memories or nightmares, avoidance, heightened threat, and changes in mood or beliefs are considered alongside duration and functional impact. Other trauma-related presentations are possible.
Effective treatment is active
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and EMDR are guideline-recommended options for PTSD when delivered by appropriately trained clinicians. Medication may be considered for selected symptoms or coexisting conditions.
What assessment covers
The person, the pattern and the context
A page can explain the framework. It cannot decide whether a diagnosis applies or which treatment fits an individual.
- Current safety, self-harm risk, ongoing exposure to threat and practical stability.
- Intrusions, nightmares, avoidance, hyperarousal, dissociation, sleep and functional impact.
- Depression, panic, substance use, pain, head injury and other possible explanations.
- What you want from care, what feels tolerable now and which supports are available.
Medication education
Where medication fits in PTSD treatment
Trauma-focused psychotherapy remains the central treatment. NICE says an adult who prefers medication may be offered an SSRI such as sertraline or an SNRI such as venlafaxine after an individual review.
Sertraline
An SSRI that may be discussed when an adult with PTSD prefers drug treatment or when depression or anxiety also needs treatment. Benefit and adverse effects are reviewed over time.
Venlafaxine
An SNRI named by NICE as another adult option. Blood pressure, withdrawal risk, interactions and previous treatment response affect whether it fits.
Specialist augmentation
An antipsychotic is not routine first-line PTSD treatment. NICE reserves adjunctive use for disabling symptoms that have not responded to other treatment and for specialist care.
Not a PTSD treatment
NICE explicitly advises against using benzodiazepines to prevent PTSD after trauma. They do not treat the core disorder and carry dependence, sedation and withdrawal risks. If short-term use is being considered for a separate indication, that is a separate clinical decision rather than PTSD treatment.
Medication is not recommended to prevent PTSD after trauma, does not erase traumatic memory and does not replace trauma-focused therapy. Do not start, switch or stop an antidepressant from a webpage.
What this page does not imply
Trauma-informed care does not mean every symptom is caused by trauma, that memory is always complete, or that immediate detailed disclosure is therapeutic. Treatment should not pressure a person to confront material without preparation, consent and an appropriate clinical plan.
When routine care is not enough
Seek urgent help if there is current danger, severe dissociation with loss of safety, thoughts or plans of suicide, inability to care for yourself, or rapidly worsening agitation or substance use. In an emergency in India, call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department.