PTSD and beyond: Embitterment and relevant concepts of nosology

Abstract

This chapter aims to put the recent growing interest in embitterment into a broader context of psychopathological or nosological concepts. It will mainly discuss these contexts and only touch on the clinical phenomenology of embitterment. Afer describing how the growing interest in embitterment corresponds paradigmatically to the "rise" of the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, we will report on current differentiations between psychiatric disorders on the basis of traumatic stress. Finally, the research-guided concept of stress response syndromes is introduced, which may allow to integrate embitterment phenomena into a larger theoretical framework. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Vienna.