Columbine Teacher's Guide

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Core Topics

  1. Definition
  2. Impact / Consequences
  3. Causes
  4. Treatment
  5. How it works, medically
  6. Prevalence
  7. Stigma
  8. The public understanding

Reading Assignments

Columbine passages, pages:

Discussion Questions

  1. What is PTSD ? How does it differ from ordinary trauma? How is the term misapplied?

  2. List and describe the major criteria for a PTSD case.

  3. How common is PTSD? Discuss some of the major situations that can bring it about.

  4. What causes PTSD? Describe the medical process of how it occurs in the brain.

  5. Are there effective treatments? Describe them. What should victims or people close to them not do in the immediate aftermath?

  6. How quickly do symptoms of PTSD show up? How long does it usually last?

Further Reading