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Treating Veterans and Military Families: Evidence Based Practices and Training Needs Among Community Clinicians

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Abstract

Little is known about the capacity of community providers to provide military informed evidence based services for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We conducted a regional, web-based survey of 352 community mental health care providers that sought to identify clinical practices, training needs, and predictors of evidence based treatment (EBT) use for PTSD. Overall, 49 % of providers indicated they seldom or never use a validated PTSD screening instrument. Familiarity with EBTs, specifically prolonged exposure (PE; χ2(4) = 14.68, p < .01) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT; χ2(4) = 4.55, p < .05), differed by provider type. Of providers who received training in PE or CPT (N = 121), 75 % reported using treatment in their practice, which was associated with having received clinical supervision (χ2 (1) = 20.16, p < .001). Widely disseminated trainings in empirically supported PTSD assessment and treatment, and implementation of case supervision in community settings are needed.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by education focused grants from Welcome Back Veterans and the McCormick Foundation, as well as from the Bob Woodruff Foundation. The authors thank Dr. Terri Tanielian and the RAND Corporation for their guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, 101 Merrimac Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Lauren K. Richards, Eric Bui, Meredith Charney, Katherine Clair Hayes, Allison L. Baier, Paula K. Rauch, Michael Allard & Naomi M. Simon

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Lauren K. Richards, Eric Bui, Meredith Charney, Paula K. Rauch & Naomi M. Simon

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  1. Lauren K. Richards
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  2. Eric Bui
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  3. Meredith Charney
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  4. Katherine Clair Hayes
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  5. Allison L. Baier
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  6. Paula K. Rauch
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  7. Michael Allard
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  8. Naomi M. Simon
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Correspondence to Lauren K. Richards.

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Richards, L.K., Bui, E., Charney, M. et al. Treating Veterans and Military Families: Evidence Based Practices and Training Needs Among Community Clinicians. Community Ment Health J 53, 215–223 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-016-0013-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-016-0013-7

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