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A NEWSLETTER FOR PROVIDERS WHO TREAT VETERANS
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Avoiding Avoidance in PTSD Treatment:
How to Stop Colluding and Promote New Learning with Compassion
Andrew Sherrill, PhD
Wednesday, December 18 at 2:00pm ET
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 Photo by Felicity Tai
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About the Presenter
ANDREW SHERRILL, PhD is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. He is a practicing clinical psychologist at the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program and the training director of the Emory University Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program. He received a PhD in clinical psychology from Northern Illinois University. He completed his predoctoral internship at the American Lake Division of VA Puget Sound Healthcare System and his postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Sherrill's clinical expertise includes behavior therapies for trauma- and anxiety-related disorders including prolonged exposure for PTSD, exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder, and acceptance and commitment therapy for a range of emotion disorders. His areas of specialization include the use of virtual reality in exposure therapies and the implementation of massed-delivered evidence-based psychotherapy. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers and his current research aims to understand effective dissemination and implementation of exposure therapy and the development of technologies that facilitate exposure therapy in the areas of ubiquitous computing, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence.
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About the Topic
This lecture addresses the critical role of avoidance in PTSD and the importance of challenging this maintenance mechanism in psychotherapy. It will begin with an overview of PTSD’s symptom clusters, highlighting the centrality of avoidance behaviors, and then explain the Prolonged Exposure (PE) perspective of avoidance as a barrier to new adaptive learning and, therefore, recovery from PTSD. This perspective can facilitate gains in several PTSD treatments, not just PE. It will detail how avoidance manifests in passive and active forms and provides examples of common avoidant behaviors. The idea that problematic avoidance occurs not just at the patient level but also within systems, relationships, and therapy will be introduced. The presenter will describe how "collusion with avoidance” can inhibit recovery and reinforce avoidance patterns, even among well-meaning therapists. Through six video examples, the presentation will guide viewers to reflect on avoidant behaviors in both patients and therapists, fostering compassion and curiosity rather than judgment. By acknowledging the universal impulse to avoid discomfort, even when problematic, therapists can label their own avoidance and identify ways to correct their behaviors as an act of compassion to both themselves and the patients they serve.
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Always on the third Wednesday of the month at 2:00pm ET
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January 15
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Treatment Considerations for PTSD in Those with History of Concussion
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Amy Jak, PhD
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February 19
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Culturally Responsive Trauma-Focused Treatment
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Brittan Hall-Clark, PhD
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March 19
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Trauma, PTSD, and Perinatal Health: An Update
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Yael Nillni, PhD
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April 16
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Addressing Complexity: Treating PTSD When Dissociation and Somatization are Present
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Abigail Angkaw, PhD and Brittany Davis PhD
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May 21
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What’s the Latest in Cognitive Processing Therapy? Updates in Research and Practice
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Jennifer Wachen, PhD and Ellen Healy, PhD
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Addressing Religious or Spiritual Dimensions of Trauma and PTSD
Religious and spiritual beliefs can be tested and strained by traumatic experiences and by PTSD symptoms. Mental health providers can help by assessing for such strains and for patient's preferences for addressing them in treatment, then choosing ways to integrate a focus on religion or spirituality within PTSD treatment.
Read the full article
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Brief Videos for Patients
We recently updated our collection of animated educational videos. Designed to help Veterans and the general public learn about PTSD and treatment options, these brief videos (less than 5 minutes each) are available on our website and on YouTube.
- What is PTSD?
- "Evidence-based" Treatment
- Treatment: Know Your Options*
- Medications for PTSD*
- EMDR for PTSD
- Prolonged Exposure
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD
- Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD
- Disaster Recovery Tips*
*New or recently updated
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Prescribing for PTSD
In addition to the patient and public educational videos featured here, we recent revised Prescribing for PTSD: Know Your Options, a short animated video for providers that explains PTSD screening and effective treatment options.
Prescribing clinicians might also be interested in our Clinician's Guide to Medications for PTSD, which was updated to reflect the recommendations of the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD.
Our team includes psychiatrists and a clinical pharmacist who are available to provide free consultation to any healthcare provider treating veterans in any setting.
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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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