A Message From Our Team
Dear Providers,
We write to you today on the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd with the recent mass violence events in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas weighing heavily on our minds. These are not the only troubling events in recent weeks and they come in the context of the chronic stress of the pandemic and war. We know that events like this, which are deeply troubling to all of us, can be especially triggering and challenging for Veterans and other people living with PTSD. As they turn to you for help, we want to remind you that we are here to support you. Below you will find some resources relevant to helping in these situations. We hope that you will find them useful. Please reach out to us with any questions and please take care of yourself in these challenging times.
Key information
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The Impact of Disaster and Mass Violence Events on Mental Health
Discusses normal and problematic responses to disaster, including bereavement complications, acute stress disorder, PTSD symptoms, and associated problems.
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Phases of Traumatic Stress Reactions Following Disaster and Mass Violence
Describes the typical phases of reaction to disaster and mass violence, including: impact, immediate, intermediate, and long term.
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Risk and Resilience Factors After Disaster and Mass Violence
Reviews the risk and resilience (or protective) factors at the individual, social, and community level that impact the influence of disaster or mass violence events on those affected.
Response and treatment
Manuals and tools
- Immediate aftermath: Psychological First Aid (PFA): Field Operations Guide
PFA is an evidence-informed modular approach for assisting people in the immediate aftermath of disaster to reduce initial distress and to foster short and long-term adaptive functioning. The guide, created jointly with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, is available in multiple languages and includes handouts for survivors. Online training and a YouTube PFA Channel are available. See also the PFA mobile phone app.
- Long-term response: Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) Guide
SPR aims to help survivors gain skills to manage distress and cope with post-disaster stress and adversity. SPR is intended to follow Psychological First Aid (PFA) in the weeks and months following disaster and mass violence events. The guide was created jointly with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network as well as others involved in disaster response; training information is available.
- From the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The following are potentially relevant one-hour recorded lectures. To visit the entire archive and see upcoming lectures please visit PTSD Consultation Program Monthly Lecture Series.
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Cultural Considerations for Conducting Trauma-Focused Treatment with Latinx Patients by Natalia Garcia Gonzalez, PhD and Agustina Colombo Eiff, MSW Recording
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The Elephant in the Room: Treating PTSD When Clinicians Have Negative Reactions to Patients' Sociocultural Views by Abigail Angkaw, PhD and Brittany Hall-Clark, PhD Recording
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Racism-related Stress and Trauma: Definitions and Interventions by Juliette McClendon, PhD Recording
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Culturally Responsive PTSD Care 101: The Role of Case Formulation by Gayle Iwamasa, PhD Recording
If you're not sure where to start or want some individualized recommendations for your context, please reach out to us. Any healthcare provider treating Veterans can request consultation from our team of expert clinicians. You can ask us anything about Veterans and trauma and PTSD including assessment, diagnosis, therapy, medications, program referral, program development, and educational resources. No question is too big or too small and the program is easy to use. Providers can email us at PTSDconsult@va.gov or call 866-948-7880.
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National Center for PTSD
The mission of the National Center for PTSD is 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.
The National Center has emerged as the world's leading research and educational center of excellence on PTSD. Our vision is to be the foremost leader in information on PTSD and trauma; information generated through our extensive research program, and information synthesized from published scientific research and collective clinical experience that is efficiently disseminated to the field.
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PTSD Consultation Program
The VA PTSD Consultation Program for Providers Who Treat Veterans offers education, information, consultation and other resources to VA and non-VA health professionals who treat Veterans with PTSD. These services provided are consistent with evidence-based practices for PTSD and VA consensus statements such as the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for PTSD.
Our goal is to improve the care available to all Veterans with PTSD regardless of where they access services. We offer expert guidance on general issues that come up in the course of caring for Veterans with PTSD. We cannot, however, provide direct guidance or consultation regarding or assume clinical responsibility for specific patients; any potential liability would be only in accordance with the Federal Tort Claims Act.
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