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Social Support to Reduce Risk of PTSD and Other Negative Outcomes
Tara Galovski, PhD
Wednesday, October 20 at 2:00pm ET
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About the Presenter
TARA GALOVSKI, PhD is the Director of the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. Over the last decade, Dr. Galovski has been a national trainer of Cognitive Processing Therapy, has trained over 1000 clinicians in both the VA and community mental health clinics, and has treated or supervised the treatment of 100s of PTSD cases. She is interested in exploring the effects of exposure to traumatic events and continuing the development of psychological interventions designed to treat PTSD and comorbid psychiatric disorders. She has conducted federally funded clinical trials (NIH, SAMHSA, DoD, VA) within a variety of populations exposed to different types of trauma including combat, sexual trauma, domestic violence, community violence, and motor vehicle accidents. This work has been conducted with civilians, law enforcement, active duty Service members, and Veterans and she has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, chapters and two books. Recently, Dr. Galovski has developed, and is the Director of, a national network of peer-led support groups for women Veterans (Women Veterans Network: WoVeN) and its recent expansion, BRIDGES.
Learn more about WoVeN
Learn more about BRIDGES
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About the Topic
Avoidance of people, places, and social situations are hallmark symptoms of PTSD and clearly contribute to impairment in relationships and functioning in social situations. Likewise, hypervigilance, irritability, and negative cognitions about the world, self, and others also present barriers to developing and maintaining positive relationships. Resulting loneliness and isolation have, in turn, been identified as risk factors for additional negative mental health outcomes, including thoughts of suicide. Social support has the demonstrable ability to mitigate the negative effects of loneliness and isolation. As PTSD symptoms remit over the course of trauma-focused therapy, patients are often faced with the task of rebuilding social support networks and restoring relationships. The Women Veterans Network (WoVeN) is a peer support network designed to target the unique needs of women Veterans by offering an 8-session, structured program led by vetted and trained peer leaders. To date, over 3300 women Veterans have connected through WoVeN with over 300 trained Peer Leaders who have led WoVeN groups nationwide. WoVeN targets key domains such as increased hope, well-being, connections, and perceived support as well as decreased distress. For the 55% of our sample who met clinical cutoffs for PTSD and/or depression, significant improvements in PTSD, depression, overall social support, coping self-efficacy, quality of life, optimism and resourcefulness were observed. This talk will explore ways that clinicians can incorporate effective elements of social support into clinical care for PTSD and improve overall quality of life and well-being for Veterans.
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Cannabis Use and PTSD Among Veterans
Cannabis use for medical conditions is an issue of growing interest and concern. Some Veterans use cannabis to relieve symptoms of PTSD and several states specifically approve the use of medical cannabis for PTSD. However, research to date does not support cannabis as an effective PTSD treatment, and some studies suggest cannabis can be harmful, particularly when used for long periods of time. Given these concerns, cannabis is not recommended for the treatment of PTSD...
Read the full version of this recently updated article
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Talking about Afghanistan
Listen to Dr. Sonya Norman, Director of the PTSD Consultation Program, and other experts on the latest episode of the Center for Deployment Psychology's "Practical for Your Practice" podcast: This IS the Track - How Talking About Afghanistan Doesn't Have to Derail an EBP
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Google Podcasts
The recent events in Afghanistan have left many military-connected clients (and providers!) reeling, creating a sense of anxiety in clinics about how to best provide support. In this episode, we bring lead EBP consultants from VA and DoD together to talk about the importance of examining our own reactions, making room for our client’s grief, anger and other emotions and how to be fully present in the room as our clients struggle to (re)create balance and meaning. We explore how validation serves as the essential substrate across EBP’s, as well as ways providers can support clients to examine values and move with intention through these historical events. Don’t miss this special episode as your colleagues discuss “doom scrolling,” the “EBP police” and much more!
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Stress First Aid for Health Care Workers
Stress First Aid (SFA) is a framework to improve recovery from stress reactions, both in oneself and in coworkers. The model aims to support and validate good friendship, mentorship and leadership actions through core actions that help to identify and address early signs of stress reactions in an ongoing way (not just after "critical incidents").
Learn more and download free resources
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Our team of expert clinicians is available to consult with any healthcare provider treating U.S. veterans in any setting.
We can discuss assessment, diagnosis, psychotherapy, medications, collaborating with VA care, patient and family education, continuing education, and just about anything else related to veterans and PTSD.
No question is too big or too small.
Contact us at PTSDconsult@va.gov or 866-948-7880.
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www.ptsd.va.gov/consult |
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