Development of the new CPTSD diagnosis for ICD-11

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) was proposed several decades ago by scientist-practitioners, almost parallel to the first description of the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the previous International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10) issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), this symptom constellation was termed ‘enduring personality change after catastrophic experience’. This diagnosis has not been clinically influential, nor has it been subjected to much research. Thus, in a multi-stage process of ICD-11 development, the diagnosis of CPTSD was developed. METHODS: This paper provides a review of the historical lines of development that led to the CPTSD diagnosis, as well as the results since the ICD-11 publication in 2018. RESULTS: The CPTSD diagnosis comprises the core symptoms of the – newly, narrowly defined – PTSD diagnosis, the three symptom groups of affective, relationship, and self-concept changes. The diagnosis is clinically easy to use in accordance with the WHO development goals for the ICD-11 and has shown good psychodiagnostic properties in various studies, including good discrimination from personality disorder with borderline pattern. CONCLUSION: The scholarly use of the new diagnosis has resulted in an increasing number of published studies on this topic in the diagnostic and therapeutic fields.