Top Ten Tips All Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma- and stressor-related disorder that may substantially affect patients with serious illness. Patients may encounter palliative care (PC) with preexisting PTSD, develop trauma-related symptoms during the course of serious illness, or experience reactivation of prior traumatic stress through medical care and associated loss of control. PTSD can complicate symptom assessment, communication, decision-making, engagement with care, and quality of life. Management in serious illness also requires clinicians to adapt standard psychiatric approaches to prognosis, medical comorbidity, treatment burden, and goals of care. In this article, a multidisciplinary team provides 10 practical tips to help PC clinicians recognize PTSD, respond to trauma-related distress, use trauma-informed care, select appropriate treatments, and address trauma-related suffering near the end of life.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Palliative Medicine
Published
2026-11-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10966218261500901
Primary Topic
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Top Ten Tips All Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Gregg Alan Robbins-Welty, Jenny H. Conviser, Paul Allen Riordan, Colleen A. Sloan et al.
Journal of Palliative Medicine
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
article

Top Ten Tips All Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Gregg Alan Robbins-Welty, Jenny H. Conviser, Paul Allen Riordan, Colleen A. Sloan, Paavani S. Reddy, Ann C. Schwartz, Paul E. Noufi, Leah B. Rosenberg, Beth Patterson, David Buxton
article en

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma- and stressor-related disorder that may substantially affect patients with serious illness. Patients may encounter palliative care (PC) with preexisting PTSD, develop trauma-related symptoms during the course of serious illness, or experience reactivation of prior traumatic stress through medical care and associated loss of control. PTSD can complicate symptom assessment, communication, decision-making, engagement with care, and quality of life. Management in serious illness also requires clinicians to adapt standard psychiatric approaches to prognosis, medical comorbidity, treatment burden, and goals of care. In this article, a multidisciplinary team provides 10 practical tips to help PC clinicians recognize PTSD, respond to trauma-related distress, use trauma-informed care, select appropriate treatments, and address trauma-related suffering near the end of life.

Journal of Palliative Medicine
Boston University (US), Northwestern University (US), Grady Memorial Hospital (US), Harvard University (US), Emory University (US), Duke University (US), Georgetown University (US), Georgetown University Medical Center (US), VA Boston Healthcare System (US), Moffitt Cancer Center (US), Massachusetts General Hospital (US), Iliff School of Theology (US), Duke Medical Center (US), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
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