[ABSTRACT] In the last decade the psychometric assessment of postraumatic stress disorder has undergone considerable development. Clinicians now possess psychometrically approppriate and goal orientated instruments for use in everty day clinical practice. Structured interviews, such as CAPS, screening instruments (TQ), severity scales (DTS), and treatment outcome scales (such as the TOP-8 or the DGRP) are currently available. We will describe and summarize here the conceptual background, methods