Nursing Assessment & Interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Page reviewed and updated: October 2025
Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur in any individual who has experienced a traumatic event. Signs and symptoms may be difficult to recognize, but as nurses, we can use critical thinking to assess patients at risk. We are positioned to make an impact by identifying patients and advocating for treatment. The resources below are available to help nurses successfully recognize and manage PTSD in patients and ourselves. You’ll also find content related to specific traumatic events that can contribute to PTSD. Make sure you’re familiar with these issues and how they impact the care you provide.
Guideline Summary
VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder (2017)
Nursing Assessment for PTSD
Posttraumatic stress disorder can occur after someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as physical or sexual assault, an accident, war, natural disaster, or unexpected death of a loved one. Feelings of fear, shock, anger, anxiety, and guilt are prolonged and interfere with the ability to function socially, at work, and in relationships. For diagnosis, the person must be experiencing a certain number of symptoms in four specific categories: re-experiencing; avoidance; persistent negative alterations in cognitions and mood; and alterations in arousal and activity.
POCKET CARD Pocket Card: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Lippincott
® NursingCenter
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CE Association of Gender, Race, Mechanism of Injury on Alcohol Use, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Depression in Trauma
Journal of Trauma Nursing, September/October 2022
Interventions for PTSD
Treatment of PTSD involves psychotherapy, medication, or both. Learn about the various types of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapies and medications used as first-line treatments, as well as other medications and supplemental therapies used to augment treatment or help manage specific symptoms.
A Brief Intervention for Injury-Related Traumatic Stress: Results From a Feasibility Study
Journal of Trauma Nursing, January/February 2025
Gun Violence & PTSD
There have been over 600 mass casualty events in 2022 as a result of gun violence, and the number of persons directly and indirectly affected is immeasurable. What can we, as nurses, do about gun violence?
Speak Out Against Gun Violence – This Is Our Lane #Thisisourlane
Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, September/October 2022
Gun Violence: The Carnage at Home
AJN, American Journal of Nursing, August 2022
Domestic Violence & PTSD
As with other traumatic events, victims and witnesses of domestic violence can suffer lasting effects and develop PTSD. Learn about screening programs, risk factors, approaching the topic, and appropriate interventions.
Intimate Partner Violence: A Clinical Update
The Nurse Practitioner, September 2023
CE Intimate Partner Violence: Warning Signs and Interventions
Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, May/June 2023
Veterans & PTSD
PTSD is a significant mental health disorder among veterans. Review the relevance of PTSD in the veteran population along with known barriers to care, common concomitant conditions, evidence-based treatment options, and the role of the nurse in identifying and treating veterans with PTSD.
Neurobehavioral Symptoms Partially Mediate the Effects of Depression and PTSD on Participation for Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study
The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, July/August 2025