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A NEWSLETTER FOR PROVIDERS WHO TREAT VETERANS
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Beyond Treatment Protocols: Personalizing Trauma-Informed Care for Veterans
Lynette Adams, PhD and Elissa McCarthy, PhD
Wednesday, February 18 at 2:00pm ET
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 Photo by RDNE Stock project
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About the Presenters
LYNETTE ADAMS, PhD, MA, is Project Manager in the VA Office of Women’s Health. She leads initiatives that integrate trauma informed care into the VA for all Veterans and is a co-investigator for a project on enhancing mental and physical health of women Veterans focusing on increasing capacity to deliver trauma informed care in primary care settings. She first worked in the VA as a staff Psychologist while at VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Currently, she continues to see Veterans on a part-time basis at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin while she performs her duties for Veterans Health Administration Office of Women's Health. She has worked with VA for 15 years.
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ELISSA McCARTHY, PhD is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of PTSD and insomnia. She serves as a consultant in the PTSD Consultation Program at the National Center for PTSD and is a psychotherapist in the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She is also a national lead trainer for the VA Office of Mental Health Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia national rollout program and is at-large member of the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program field advisory board. Her current research interests are focused on studying the effectiveness and implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD and insomnia. She has been dedicated to serving Veterans in VA for 18 years.
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About the Topic
This lecture offers mental health providers an in-depth look at considering the impacts of trauma, whether when providing evidence-based protocols or when delivering other services to Veterans. This deeper understanding can optimize health care utilization and outcomes. This lecture will equip providers with the ability to describe the potential effects of past trauma, identify and implement trauma-informed care practices, adopt specific supportive behaviors, and locate resources to enhance their trauma-informed care approach.
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March 18
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PTSD and Dementia
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Jennifer Vasterling, PhD
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April 15
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Reproductive Health in Women with PTSD: Bridging Research and Clinical Practice
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Suzanne Pineles, PhD
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May 20
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Prescribing for Older Veterans with PTSD
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Beth Cohen, MD
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June 17
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Review of the Neurobiology of PTSD: Implications for Treatment Development
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Paul Holtzheimer, MD
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July 15
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Assessing and Treating Anger in the Context of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Stephanie Wells, PhD and Kirsten Dillon, PhD
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August 19
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Clinical Strategies for Treating Co-Occurring PTSD and Substance Use Disorder
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Sonya Norman, PhD and Brittany Davis, PhD
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September 16
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Understanding the Context of Military Culture in Treating Veterans with PTSD
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Patricia Watson, PhD
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Trauma-informed Care Beyond Mental Health Settings
Trauma-informed care (TIC) approaches in workplace, educational or health care settings promote well-being, adaptation and resilience in those who have been exposed to prior traumatic experiences. They aim to ensure that policies, procedures and environments support safety, healing, empowerment and recovery, as well as reduce practices that may cause stress or remind people of prior traumatic experiences. They also aim to be responsive to racial, ethnic and cultural differences. The resources listed on our Trauma-informed Care page, including articles and toolkits, may help in developing TIC approaches in a variety of fields that offer services to Veterans or those with trauma histories.
Explore more trauma-informed care resources
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Provider Self-Care
Treating trauma survivors while managing your own stress and life challenges can sometimes be challenging. As a part of our mission to support providers who treat Veterans with PTSD, our team is prepared to consult about provider self-care. Please reach out to us any time for a confidential consultation.
You can also explore a variety of resources in our Provider Toolkit.
Trauma-Informed Care
In addition to the resources in the featured article (above), our colleagues at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have created a trauma-informed care resource for behavioral health professionals. Their Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) gathers experience and information from experts in behavioral health to highlight best practice guidelines for pursuing a trauma-informed approach and providing trauma-specific services. The resource provides a research-based explanation about trauma and its impacts on substance use and mental disorders to explore intervention and treatment principles.
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PTSD Coach Updated
Our free PTSD Coach mobile app, which has now been downloaded over 1 million times, recently underwent a major update.
The app includes educational materials, interactive tools, symptom assessments, and support resources.
With this update, users can:
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Set personalized goals and access suggested activities to help achieve them
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Explore new tools, including exercises for emotional awareness (Passengers on the Bus) and strategies for coping with moral injury (Moral Elevation)
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Log medication use for better self-management
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Track triggers in real time to support symptom monitoring
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Identify their personal support network for added connection
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Customize their experience by changing the home screen theme and selecting inspiring quotes
DOWNLOAD PTSD COACH
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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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