This comprehensive text, with contributions from an international group of leading authorities, covers all that is currently known about traumatic stress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its treatment. Examining the biological and psychological factors that mold the symptomatology, as well as social reactions to it, the text highlights the controversies and uncertainties that punctuate the study of trauma. Topics covered include issues of memory, dissociation, and the interface between culture and traumatic stress and between biological and psychological processes. Also explored in detail is the efficacy of treatment interventions at various stages in the development of traumatic stress.