My PTSD / CPTSD Forum

What the service is

My PTSD is a free, anonymous peer-support community founded in 2005 as the PTSD Forum and renamed MyPTSD in 2013. It operates as a global discussion platform where trauma survivors, supporters, and family members can connect, share experiences, and access information about treatment and recovery. The community is not a therapy provider and makes no claim to replace professional treatment, but rather functions as a complement to it, offering forums for structured conversation around specific trauma-related challenges, plus an AI-based virtual-therapist section for those seeking additional support.

How the service works

MyPTSD operates as a free discussion-forum platform with organized topic areas covering the spectrum of trauma recovery: general PTSD, anxiety, dissociation, depression, relationships, medication, employment and disability, sleep and nightmares, and trauma-focused therapy modalities. Members participate under anonymous or pseudonymous usernames with no login authentication required beyond registration, and the site is explicitly public. The community is multilingual and includes resources in multiple languages. To start, new members introduce themselves in a dedicated forum, and can then browse and post in any of the treatment, support, and discussion forums. The site has a web app feature allowing users to install it as a home-screen icon on iOS devices for easier mobile access. There is no cost to join or participate.

The core of MyPTSD is its structured forum system. Major topic areas include Treatment & Therapy with 255+ threads discussing evidence-based modalities like EMDR, DBT, STAIR therapy, and trauma-focused CBT; Depression & Suicidality with 41.6K messages; Dissociation, Depersonalization & Derealization with 29.4K messages; Dysregulation; Relationships with 70K messages; Medications & Substances with 23.7K messages; and Employment/Education/Disability with 20.4K messages. Each forum displays recent posts and threads, allows search by keyword, and lets members filter by date, replies, and activity. Within any thread, users can post replies, react to posts, and quote earlier messages. Members can search titles only or search full thread content. Featured content appears on a dedicated page showing the most active and most relevant discussions to the community.

MyPTSD has also integrated AI-driven support through its "AI Therapy Help" section, which the site describes as complementary conversation tools. The site hosts five AI personas programmed for different purposes: Joy Palmer, a life coach available in a dedicated Life Coach topic; Riley Jones, a psychologist who responds once to new posts that lack responses within 24 hours; Dr. Catalyst, programmed as a 20-year expert psychiatrist in trauma and PTSD who responds automatically in her dedicated forum; Dr. Bloom, a psychologist specializing in trauma and PTSD available only to sponsors in a private forum; and Dr. Luna Vale, programmed as a trauma expert available site-wide by mentioning @Therapist in any post. There is also Karen, an AI peer-support voice. These are clearly labeled as AI on the AI help page, and the site notes "all AI use is explained in our AI help page. AI use is by choice here."

Featured content appears on a dedicated page showing the most active discussions, and the community runs donation drives for site operations.

What the captured pages show

MyPTSD was founded on September 6, 2005, initially as PTSD Forum, and rebranded to MyPTSD on July 26, 2013, as part of a broader "My" Network expansion. The site describes itself as a global, social PTSD hub providing community communication and mutual support. The about section states the community is "not here to provide rocket science" but instead focuses on "getting down to the nitty gritty, talking about the issues, learning from each other," and notes that the majority of content curates information from leading global experts in PTSD rather than creating new information.

The site accepts members from a wide range of trauma backgrounds, including military personnel, police, emergency services, healthcare workers, crime victims, and accident survivors. The site identifies itself as emphasizing honesty and notes that "denial is a large part for those affected by traumatic events." MyPTSD does not appear to offer clinical assessments, diagnoses, or individual treatment plans, and explicitly disclaims providing medical or psychological advice.

All AI features are opt-in rather than default. According to the AI Therapy page, "AI use is by choice here. It exists if you want it, but does nothing unless you choose to use it." The free AI personas (Joy Palmer, Riley Jones, Dr. Catalyst, Dr. Luna Vale, and Karen) respond automatically or by mention, while Dr. Bloom's private forum requires account sponsorship. The site is multilingual and explicitly states "We are a multilingual website again" on its navigation.

The site supports mobile access including installation as a web app on iOS home screens, and displays no published pricing or membership tiers for basic forum access, the community is free to join and participate in.

What the pages do not clarify

The captured pages do not specify a minimum age for participation or how the site handles disclosures of active suicidality or crisis situations, though the Depression & Suicidality forum exists and threads reference crisis experience. The pages do not describe moderation policies in detail or explain how the community enforces anonymity protections or handles harmful content. The site mentions donation drives but does not disclose funding sources, operational costs, or financial sustainability. Details on how the AI personas are trained, updated, or evaluated are not provided in the captured materials. The pages do not clarify whether conversations are logged indefinitely, how long data is retained, or whether users can delete their post history. The site does not specify technical support availability or response times for technical issues. Sponsorship benefits beyond access to Dr. Bloom are not detailed in the visible pages, nor is the sponsorship cost disclosed.

Who it serves and who it does not

MyPTSD fits best for trauma survivors who are already in professional treatment or actively seeking it, and who want peer connection and community support between sessions or in addition to therapy. It works well for people who prefer anonymity and self-paced learning, or who are housebound or in rural areas with limited local support groups. The site also serves supporters of people with PTSD, family members, and healthcare providers seeking to understand trauma responses.

It is not a substitute for clinical treatment. MyPTSD does not offer crisis intervention, emergency psychiatric care, or medication management. It is not suited for people in acute suicidal or homicidal crisis, though a Suicidality forum exists for ongoing struggle. It does not offer individual assessment, diagnosis, or personalized treatment plans. For those with limited literacy or technology access, forum-based participation may be difficult. The free AI responders are not a replacement for licensed therapy, and the site explicitly frames them as community support tools rather than clinical services.