Symposia
Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders and Disasters
Cynthia Yamokoski, Ph.D.
PTSD Mentoring Program, Associate Director
National Center for PTSD
Kent, Ohio
Vanessa Facemire, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
Cleveland, Ohio
Heather Flores, Psy.D.
Program Manager
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
Cleveland, Ohio
Emerging research is demonstrating support for the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) for PTSD in a massed/condensed model over a shortened period of time (e.g., Foa et al., 2018; Harvey et al., 2017; Held et al, 2019; Bryan et al., 2018; Wachen et al., 2019; Zalta et al, 2018). Treatment models include options to complete care over significantly shorter periods of time (e.g., 1-4 weeks) through delivering EBP sessions three or more times per week. The present study examined the impact of length of time to deliver the EBP protocol on self-reported PTSD symptoms (PCL-5) and EBP completion rates within a specialty PTSD program. Patients diagnosed with PTSD (n =135) engaged in shared-decision making and elected to participate in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Prolonged Exposure (PE) either weekly, three times per week or five times per week. A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of length of time to complete protocol on PTSD symptom reduction and EBP completion rate. There was a significant effect on treatment completion [F( 3, 132) = 8.79, p = .00) but not on PTSD symptom reduction for those completing treatment. These findings provide support that patients who receive the “full dosage” of PTSD EBP protocol in a shorter period of time maintain the reductions in self-reported PTSD symptoms but are more likely to complete treatment.