In the world of treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) there seems to be an insatiable desire for new and novel treatments, and there is a frequent refrain that “We need effective treatments for PTSD!”
Recently, the CDP collaborated with colleagues within the VA Healthcare System, University of Rochester, and Louisiana State University to examine the role of difficulties with emotion regulation on military connected individuals with PTSD
Back in June of 2023, I attended the Psych Congress Elevate conference. I haven’t attended this conference in the past, but the topics and speakers looked interesting, and I needed some CEs. Plus, it was in Las Vegas, so extra bonus! I soon found that while psychologists were certainly welcomed and encouraged to attend, most of the presentations focused on pharmacological interventions for mental health issues. Fair enough, as I very much respect the important role pharmacology and prescribers play in addressing these conditions. Even though I felt like I was crashing someone else’s party, I value learning new things, especially if it helps me explain or present ideas to my clients that can be beneficial, even if I would not be the one prescribing or managing their medications.
As many of our listeners know, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense (VA/DoD) Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) was released in June of 2023. The CPG, designed to assist clinical decision making, provides recommendations that, in essence, give a clinician a fighting chance of identifying treatments that the research suggests should help their clients. But for many busy providers, it is a lot to unpack and digest!
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant challenges for healthcare systems worldwide, with behavioral health services being particularly overwhelmed by the increased demand for mental health support. Even before the pandemic, many behavioral health clinics throughout the Military Healthcare System (MHS) and in the civilian sector were contending with increased demand for services beyond the capacity of the system to provide them. Traditional models of therapy rooted in 45- or 50-min individual therapy sessions, while appropriate in many situations and presentations, are not what everyone needs.