Trauma and PTSD

Diagnosis of PTSD should be made by a medical or mental health professional. Diagnosing PTSD typically involves a thorough assessment of the signs, symptoms, and impact, medical and mental health history. A GP may suggest a referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist for specialist evaluation and diagnosis.

PTSD diagnosis requires exposure to an event where you experience actual or possible threat of death, violence or serious injury. Trauma exposure can happen in these ways:

• You experience directly the traumatic event
• You witness, in person, the traumatic event occurring to someone else
• You find out that someone close to you experienced or was threatened by a traumatic event
• You are repeatedly exposed to graphic details of traumatic events (for example, you hear about someone else's sexual abuse on many occasions)​

If you experience PTSD-like symptoms which impact on your ability to function in social and work settings and negatively impact relationships for more than a month after you experience a traumatic event, you may have PTSD and should seek assessment.