1. Intensive Outpatient Program Using Prolonged Exposure for Combat-Related PTSD: A Case Study.
- Author
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Straud, Casey L., Blount, Tabatha H., Foa, Edna B., Brown, Lily A., McLean, Carmen P., McGeary, Cindy A., Koch, Lauren M., Schobitz, Richard P., and Peterson, Alan L.
- Subjects
MILITARY personnel ,POST-traumatic stress disorder ,EXPOSURE therapy ,VETERANS ,MILITARY culture - Abstract
• PE can be effectively adapted to an intensive outpatient format. • IOP-PE can result in clinically significant reductions in PTSD over time. • Addressing multiple traumatic events may increase processing and new learning. • Feedback and booster sessions may help to enhance and maintain treatment gains. • Incorporation of significant others may mitigate accommodating behaviors. Although prolonged exposure (PE) has been identified as a first-line treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), research has found that military service members and veterans have smaller reductions in symptom severity compared to civilians. The nature of trauma in a deployed combat setting and the unique complexities of military culture have been proposed as explanations for greater rates of PTSD and poorer treatment response to first-line psychotherapies in military and veteran populations. This paper presents a case study to highlight how a novel, intensive outpatient program utilizing prolonged exposure therapy (IOP-PE) may benefit military personnel with combat-related PTSD. The patient is a Caucasian man in his early 40s seeking treatment for PTSD after more than 10 years of enlisted, active duty military service across two branches and three combat deployments. The IOP-PE includes the standard PE components and eight, nonstandard treatment augmentations tailored for military personnel. In contrast to standard PE, which typically is delivered weekly over several months, IOP-PE consists of 15 daily, 90-minute PE sessions conducted over 3 weeks. The patient demonstrated large reductions on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (28 points) and PTSD Checklist (48 points) by the 6-month posttreatment follow-up point. Findings provide support for conducting further research that determines whether IOP-PE is effective and tolerable in military and veteran populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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