ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses how trauma definitions interpret this complex relation between bodied and mind relational states. In this chapter, the diagnostic tools, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), are assessed alongside the history of trauma diagnosis. It requires understanding the interconnection between symptoms and causation and also requires that we develop categories of trauma diagnosis that reflect the complex attachment relations that affect definitions and evaluations of trauma. The DSM presents a medicalised account of trauma, under the definition of post-traumatic stress disorder, which can help individuals to identify and seek treatment for their symptoms. However, the interpretation of symptoms is far from straightforward, and the diagnostic definitions used to interpret traumatic experience continue to come under scrutiny and criticism. In this chapter, we will look at what scholars have said about labelling trauma. We will also clarify between specific and generalised accounts of trauma and assess the ambiguities in these delineations.
