A NEWSLETTER FOR PROVIDERS WHO TREAT VETERANS

• Our Next Lecture
• Upcoming Lectures
• Featured Article
• Free Resources

Our Next Lecture

Using a Decision Aid in

Shared Decision-Making for PTSD

Sadie Larsen, PhD

Wednesday, January 21 at 2:00pm ET 

About the Presenter

Sadie Larsen, PhD is a clinical psychologist on the Education Team at the National Center for PTSD and a Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She led the revision of the newly updated PTSD Treatment Decision Aid.  Her overall work is focused on  translating research knowledge into information that is more accessible to patients and clinicians. Dr. Larsen specializes in Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Written Exposure Therapy. She enjoys helping clinicians provide evidence-based treatment while navigating the nuances of particular cases and the administrative and other challenges that come with systems change. Her primary research interests involve better understanding variation in response to evidence-based treatments for PTSD, cognitive and emotional processes that maintain or alleviate PTSD symptoms, and the unique experiences of Veterans and of men and women who experience interpersonal and sexual trauma. Dr. Larsen received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and then completed her predoctoral internship at University of Wisconsin and her postdoctoral fellowship in PTSD treatment at VA Boston.

About the Topic

Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of PTSD support the use of shared decision-making. However, implementing shared decision making with patients to consider evidence-base treatment options for PTSD in a way that is meaningfully, collaborative, and efficient can be challenging.

The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid was designed to assist in the process of shared decision-making by describing the leading treatments for PTSD in plain language. The newly updated PTSD Treatment Decision Aid includes new treatments and other features to align with newer clinical practice guidelines and with changes to clinical practice.

This lecture will describe the basics of shared decision-making including the use of patient decision aids. It will then give a walk-through of the PTSD Treatment Decision Aid, including discussing how to utilize it with patients to enhance providers’ shared decision-making practice. This will be grounded in the literature around shared decision-making (for PTSD and more broadly).

Upcoming Lectures

Featured Article

Using the PTSD Treatment Decision Aid with Your Patients

The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid is an online tool to educate people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) about effective treatment options and encourage them to participate actively in decisions about their care.

Read more about the key features of this free online tool

Free Resources

PTSD Treatment Decision Aid

Our free PTSD Treatment Decision Aid has been significantly revised and is now available online.

Decision aids provide balanced information on multiple treatment options and help patients choose a treatment that’s right for them.

Use the PTSD Treatment Decision Aid together with patients or share it with them to use on their own:

• Features evidence-based PTSD treatments from the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of PTSD
• Includes multiple learning modes (e.g., video, text, questionnaires)
• Engages patients with interactive tools, including a treatment comparison chart and personal summary of preferences
• Offers resources and tools for clinicians, Veterans, and loved ones
• Works online or on a mobile phone

Watch a brief site walk-through and explore promotional materials to use with your clients:

ptsd.va.gov/apps/decisionaid/for-clinicians

Which PTSD Treatments are Recommended?

The VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD was updated in 2023 and contains 34 evidence-informed recommendations about the assessment and treatment of PTSD.  

We recently developed two new online courses to help providers learn about how the guideline was developed and what its key recommendations are for PTSD treatment.

Providers can earn free continuing education credit for completing one or both courses:

Psychotherapy for PTSD: Recommendations from the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline

Medication and Other Biological Treatments for PTSD: Recommendations from the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline

Are you treating U.S. Veterans?

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.