Episode 9, Season 4: Massed Treatments for PTSD: The Quickest Way Through the Fog?
Guest: Dr. Cynthia Yamokoski
What if you could successfully treat PTSD in two weeks instead of 12? Massed delivery of PTSD treatments such as Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure are gaining empirical support. But how does it work and could you offer it to your patients?
Our guest in this episode is at the forefront of research answering these questions. We’re joined by Dr. Cynthia Yamokoski, the Associate Director of the PTSD Mentoring Program at the National Center for PTSD. She shares the benefits and challenges of massed treatment for PTSD and provides suggestions for how to get started in your clinical practice.
Of course, she also shares her “EBP Confession,” describing how she let her EBP pendulum swing too far. Listen in as Dr. Yamokoski leads us “through the fog.”
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Show Notes:
Dr. Cynthia Yamokoski is a clinical psychologist and the Associate Director of the PTSD Mentoring Program at the National Center for PTSD. She is a Senior Clinical Instructor at the Case Western Reserve University. She earned her doctorate from the University of Akron. Dr. Yamokoski and her colleagues in Cleveland have developed and implemented an intensive 2- and 4-week PTSD program utilizing massed delivery of evidenced-based psychotherapy for PTSD, and she is facilitating the implementation of this model in additional PTSD programs within the VA system.
Resources:
This American Life “Ten Sessions”: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/682/ten-sessions
The PTSD Consultation Program at the National Center for PTSD: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/consult/index.asp
This article provides a good summary of the massed treatment research to date: Wachen, J.S., Dondanville, K., Evans, W., Morris, K., & Cole, A. (2019). Adjusting the Timeframe of Evidence-Based Therapies for PTSD-Massed Treatments. Current Treatment Options in Psych. DOI 10.1007/s40501-019-00169-9
Calls-to-action:
Learn more about massed treatments by listening to the “Ten Sessions” episode of This American Life and reading relevant research.
Utilize consultation as you start implementing massed treatment.
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Share your EBP questions, successes, missteps, or fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
This podcast is produced by the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The views expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Uniformed Services University, the Department of Defense, or the US Government. In addition, reference to any specific company, products, processes, or services does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement by the Uniformed Services University, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.