Justia Connect Webinars PTSD 101: Recognizing PTSD & Related Disorders in Legal Clients

You are watching a webinar preview. To view the full webinar, log in to your Justia Connect account or sign up for free.

Overview AI Webinar Summary

PTSD 101: Recognizing PTSD & Related Disorders in Legal Clients

This CLE introduces attorneys to PTSD and related trauma- and stressor-related disorders, with particular focus on how trauma affects memory, behavior, and decision-making in legal clients. Participants will learn how common trauma responses can be mistaken for inconsistency, evasion, or instability, and how to recognize the diagnostic features of PTSD and adjacent conditions in clients. The presentation closes with practical, trauma-informed strategies attorneys can apply in client interviews, credibility assessments, and courtroom advocacy. test test

Topics covered include:

Law Practice Criminal Law Family Law Law Firm Management Personal Injury Trial Skills

Agenda:

Introduction and Learning Objectives
- Defining PTSD and related disorders
- How trauma affects memory, behavior, and decision-making
- The impact of PTSD on legal proceedings
DSM-5 Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders Overview
- Tour of the DSM-5 category, including Reactive Attachment Disorder, Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder, PTSD, Adjustment Disorders, and Other Specified/Unspecified Trauma-and Stressor-Related Disorders
PTSD Diagnostic Criteria in the DSM-5
- Detailed review of Criteria A through E, the key changes from DSM-IV, duration and impairment requirements, and why PTSD is now harder to diagnose under DSM-5
Related Disorders
- Acute Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorders, and Other Specified Presentations
- Diagnostic criteria, duration windows, specifiers
- Legal relevance of presentations that fall short of full PTSD criteria
“Large-T” vs. “Small-T” Trauma
- Distinguishing single-incident, life-threatening trauma from cumulative, stressor-driven trauma
- Why both matter in legal contexts
How Trauma Affects Memory, Behavior, and Decision-Making
- Trauma's impact on the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
- Fragmented memory, delayed recall, fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses, emotional dysregulation, and impaired risk assessment
- Legal implications of effects on memory, behavior, and decision-making
Impact of PTSD on Legal Proceedings: Credibility, Communication, and Accommodations
- Application to credibility assessments, trauma-informed interviewing, communication barriers, courtroom anxiety, dissociation, and reasonable accommodations such as remote testimony and structured breaks
Q&A (As Time Permits)

Duration of this webinar: 60 minutes

Originally broadcast: July 21, 2026 10:00 AM PT

Webinar Highlights

This webinar is divided into section summaries, which you can scan for key points and then dive into the sections that interest you the most.

00:00 Understanding PTSD and Related Disorders

Dr. Jennifer Sweeton, the speaker, discusses the importance of understanding PTSD claims in forensic evaluations, especially from a defense perspective. She introduces the DSM-5 TR, highlighting its role in classifying trauma and stressor-related disorders, including PTSD. She clarifies that not all trauma leads to PTSD and emphasizes the existence of other serious trauma-related disorders. Dr. Sweeton explains two childhood disorders, reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder, which stem from early trauma.

15:50 PTSD Diagnostic Criteria and Challenges

Dr. Sweeton explains the DSM-5 TR criteria for diagnosing PTSD and contrasts the DSM-5 TR with the ICD-11. The DSM-5 TR requires trauma to involve death, serious injury, or sexual violence for a PTSD diagnosis. Dr. Sweeton highlights the importance of understanding the types of exposure that qualify for PTSD diagnosis. She advises caution in diagnosing PTSD and suggests considering other disorders when criteria are not met.

24:59 PTSD Symptom Clusters

Dr. Sweeton explains how PTSD symptoms are categorized into clusters: re-experiencing, avoidance, cognition and mood alterations, and arousal and reactivity. Re-experiencing involves reliving the trauma through unwanted thoughts or nightmares, while avoidance includes steering clear of trauma reminders. Cognition and mood alterations involve negative thoughts and emotions, and arousal symptoms include heightened alertness and irritability. Dr. Sweeton clarifies that PTSD symptoms must persist for over a month and cause significant distress or impairment.

46:14 Memory, Behavior, and Legal Implications

Dr. Sweeton explains the distinction between large T and small t traumas, noting that both can be life-altering. She discusses how trauma affects memory, leading to fragmented recollections and potential inconsistencies. Dr. Sweeton emphasizes the importance of psychological evaluations to distinguish between trauma-related memory issues and malingering. She advises attorneys to be aware of survival responses in clients, such as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn behaviors. She discusses the potential impact of trauma on client behavior during legal proceedings, such as depositions. Dr. Sweeton highlights the need for accommodations for traumatized clients, including remote testimony and recorded depositions.

Please note this AI-generated summary provides a general overview of the webinar but may not capture all details, nuances, or the exact words of the speaker. For complete accuracy, please refer to the original webinar recording.

Speaker

Jennifer Sweeton Attorney & Psychologist
Sweeton Injury Law, LLC

Dr. Jennifer Sweeton, Psy.D., JDMS, MA, is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist and an attorney admitted in Missouri. She is Managing Member of Sweeton Injury Law, LLC and owner of Mind Works Consulting and Psychological Services, LLC, both based in Kansas City. Dr. Sweeton specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma- and stressor-related disorders, with particular emphasis on PTSD in legal and forensic contexts, and regularly serves as a testifying expert in personal injury, criminal, and family matters. She is an Amazon #1 best-selling author in Clinical Psychology and a frequent CLE and CE presenter for attorneys and clinicians on trauma-informed practice, PTSD, and the neuroscience of trauma. Read More ›

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

*CLE credit is only available to Justia Connect Pros. Not a Pro? Upgrade today>>

Alabama CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2026

Alaska CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: July 20, 2031

California CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2028

Hawaii CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: July 20, 2028

Illinois CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: July 20, 2028

New Jersey CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.20 General

Earn Credit Until: July 20, 2027

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: February 28, 2027

Ohio CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2026

Pennsylvania CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 Substantive Law, Practice, and Procedure

Earn Credit Until: July 20, 2028

Texas CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: June 30, 2027

Vermont CLE

Status: Approved

Format: Live (Virtual), On-Demand

Credits: 1.00 General

Earn Credit Until: July 21, 2031

West Virginia CLE

Status: Approved

Format: On-Demand

Credits: 1.20 General

Earn Credit Until: December 31, 2029

This presentation is approved for one hour of General CLE credit in Alabama, one hour of General CLE credit in Alaska, one hour of General CLE credit in California, one hour of General CLE credit in Hawaii, one hour of General CLE credit in Illinois, one hour of General CLE credit in North Carolina, one hour of General CLE credit in Ohio, one hour of Substantive Law, Practice, and Procedure CLE credit in Pennsylvania, one hour of General CLE credit in Vermont, and one hour of General CLE credit in West Virginia. This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.20 hours of total CLE credit. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.00 credit hours.

Justia only reports attendance in jurisdictions in which a particular Justia CLE Webinar is officially accredited. Lawyers may need to self-submit their certificates for CLE credit in jurisdictions not listed above.

Note that CLE credit, including partial credit, cannot be earned outside of the relevant accreditation period. To earn credit for a course, a lawyer must watch the entire course within the relevant accreditation period. Lawyers who have viewed a presentation multiple times may not be able to claim credit in their jurisdiction more than once. Justia reserves the right, at its discretion, to grant an attendee partial or no credit, in accordance with viewing duration and other methods of verifying course completion.

At this time, Justia only offers CLE courses officially accredited in certain states. Lawyers may generate a generic attendance certificate to self-submit credit in their own jurisdiction, but Justia does not guarantee that lawyers will receive their desired CLE credit through the self-submission or reciprocity process.

Looking for CLE credit? Visit CLE Dashboard