PTSD Evaluations
The Clinician-Administered PTSD Symptom (CAPS) assessment is an example of a standardized evaluation tool used by NHFC. In cases involving a question of trauma-related illness or injury, our consultants are able, using CAPS, to report on the frequency and intensity of the criteria and symptoms required to establish a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. This complicated and sometimes subtle diagnosis forms the cornerstone for many legal cases.
CAPS was developed by the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to create a standard and reliable research instrument for PTSD assessment. Using a structured clinical interview, it provides a great deal of data, including: clear behavioral indicators; measurement of frequency and intensity of each symptom; description of the impact of the 17 individual symptoms on social and occupational functioning, and placement of the current PTSD episode within a framework of lifetime frequency and intensity.
Although it was designed for research purposes, the CAPS has established scoring parameters that are applicable to clinical and forensic cases. As such a diagnostic assessment containing a CAPS or other standardized evaluation creates an extremely high standard of proof. In addition to their specificity and reliability, our assessments provide a wealth of data that speaks effectively to the particulars of a given case.