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Feature Topic
25th Anniversary of the National Center for PTSD
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Since its founding in 1989, the mission of the VA's National Center for PTSD has been "to advance the clinical care and social welfare of America's Veterans and others who have experienced trauma, or who suffer from PTSD, through research, education, and training in the science, diagnosis, and treatment of PTSD and stress-related disorders."
Dr. Matthew Friedman, the Center's Executive Director from 1989 through 2013, reflects: "The Center's research and educational initiatives helped establish the scientific basis for PTSD, and disseminated that information globally."
Dr. Paula Schnurr, Acting Executive Director, looks forward: "We have come a long way in the past 25 years, but there remains much more to be done."
Join us in celebrating 25 years of excellence in research and education!
25 Years of State-of-the-Art Veteran and Public Resources
Dr. Matthew Friedman: "Our most important accomplishment is that we helped educate policymakers as well as the general public that PTSD was not something that happened only to Vietnam Veterans."
The Center's website launched in 1995, offering fact sheets and resources about PTSD and its treatment. Since then, the Center has added innovative products and extended its reach.
Check out these recent additions:
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PTSD Coach Online, a web-based collection of 17 tools to address stress-related symptoms and build coping skills.
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Mobile phone apps for self-help and to aid in treatment with your provider.
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AboutFace, where Veterans and their families share stories of how PTSD treatment turned their lives around and clinicians describe what treatment is like.
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"What is PTSD" Whiteboard, explains trauma and PTSD symptoms using hand-drawn whiteboard animation
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25 Years of Timely Evidence-Based Professional Resources
The Center provides up-to-date and easily accessible information and materials on PTSD and its care for providers. Assessment measures and treatment resources are just a click away.
Check out the latest assessment and treatment resources:
Meeting the Training Needs of Busy Providers
Our Continuing Education resources offer providers basic, intermediate, and advanced level courses, with free CMEs/CEUs, on PTSD, comorbidities, practice guidelines, clinical skills, treatment issues, and much more.
The Center encourages providers and researchers to stay informed of advances in PTSD. Check out the Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS) database, available since 1991.
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25 Years of Helping VA Providers Improve Veteran Care
A companion to our public website, the Center's intranet site is tailored to VA providers and staff. Check out the latest in:
VA PTSD Consultation Program
The Center established the Consultation Program to answer any questions about PTSD and its treatment that any VA provider or staff may have. The program now includes a monthly lecture series, based on questions received.
Subscribe: Learn about our PTSD Lectures
VA staff can sign up for VA Staff PTSD Updates to receive monthly registration instructions for these live lectures.
Next Lecture in the Series
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9/17 at 2 pm ET - Ronald Riechers, II, MD on Assessment and Management of Posttraumatic Headaches
Mark your calendar for the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 2 pm ET.
Free PTSD consultation for anyone working with Veterans.
Call 866-948-7880 or
Email PTSDconsult@va.gov.
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25 Years of Research and Education
Dr. Paula Schnurr: "We must continue to increase our scientific understanding of PTSD through research and develop better evidence-based treatments as well as prevention strategies."
In the past 25 years, research at the Center has spanned the broad field of PTSD, from questions of basic science through to treatment implementation. Search our collection of articles and chapters written by National Center for PTSD staff to learn about our contributions.
In response to the growing public and Veteran interest in research, the Center recently added web content explaining why PTSD research is important and what it means to take part in research. We also made available a listing of Center studies that are seeking volunteers.
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As media interest in PTSD grows each year, Center staff strive to provide accurate information regarding timely issues. Since 2013, we have responded to over 70 inquiries from major newspapers, television channels, and popular magazines. Recent examples include:
Alternative Therapies for PTSD in Arizona. Dr. Friedman contributes to an article in The Arizona Republic. Read more.*
Helping Veterans Heal, Part 3. In this segment broadcast July 24th on WCAX-TV (Burlington, VT), Dr. Friedman discussed the Leahy-Friedman National PTSD Brain Bank. Read more and watch the video.*
The media now includes online news, blogs, and social media. The Center has kept up the pace, starting its own Twitter feed in 2010 and Facebook page in 2011 to extend our reach. Connect with us!
Be sure to forward this update to others so they can subscribe. We send only one update per month to keep you informed of the latest PTSD developments.
Thank you,
The Staff of VA’s National Center for PTSD
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