Trauma Recovery Navigator
An interactive companion to a PTSD case study — walk the DSM-5 criteria, visualise the assessment battery, track exposure distress, and follow the 18-session therapeutic journey.
The case
Pedestrian RTAA 20-year-old male survived a severe road-traffic accident as a pedestrian, sustaining traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Scale = 8) and a five-day coma. Months later he presented with intrusive flashbacks, avoidance of streets and vehicles, negative mood, and persistent hypervigilance — the four DSM-5 symptom clusters of PTSD.
Explore the companion
DSM-5 symptom clusters
Criteria B–ETick each symptom the patient presents. Every cluster has a minimum threshold; a full diagnosis requires all four clusters plus duration and functional impairment.
Diagnostic result
Criterion A (exposure to actual or threatened death/serious injury) is satisfied by the road-traffic accident and is assumed present for this case.
Assessment battery
Self-reportSet each instrument's severity (0 = none, 100 = severe) to build the patient's symptom profile. These are the standardized tools used in the case.
Symptom severity profile
Exposure & SUDS tracker
SUDS 0–10Systematic desensitization records Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) across successive exposure trials. Habituation is shown when distress trends toward the target line (≤ 3).
Grounding & breathing
Stabilisation5-4-3-2-1 grounding. Name one thing for each sense to anchor in the present moment.
Abdominal breathing (Jacobson). Follow the circle: inhale, hold, exhale.
The 18-session therapeutic journey
0 / 18 reviewedTherapy progressed through three levels — symptomatological stabilisation, existential meaning-making, and transgenerational integration. Select a session to see the techniques applied.
Select a session
Click any numbered session above to review its focus and techniques.