VIDEO: PTSD a community health issue

June is PTSD Awareness Month, and therapists like Jocelyn Moyet, LMHC, have a vested interest in strengthening the body of knowledge for individuals, their families and the community on how to recognize PTSD and how to receive assistance.

“When we talk about awareness, we want to observe the challenges that people may encounter when they have PTSD,” Moyet, a licensed mental health therapist at Grow Therapy in Deltona, Florida, said in this Healio video. “The population that is underserved and the high-risk population that is exposed to or more prevalent to present with PTSD.”

The first step to addressing awareness, Moyet said, is recognizing that PTSD often goes undiagnosed in roughly 2% to 11% of individuals who may seek treatment for anxiety and depression and are subsequently misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder as adults or with ADHD in young persons.

Among the populations that see a greater amount of PTSD misdiagnosis or longer duration of untreated symptoms are Black and Latino/Hispanic communities, Moyet said. However, she noted, PTSD is not limited to these individuals, and anyone who has experienced traumatic events such as sexual abuse, medical procedures or natural disasters is at higher risk of developing PTSD.

Available treatments for those with PTSD include counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, therapy either in a group or individual setting and medication.

“Not everybody who experiences a trauma will develop PTSD, but everybody that has developed PTSD has experienced a traumatic event in their life,” Moyet added.