Scholarly Project 314C

 
Dana Brandenburg, PsyD, LP, Stephanie Hooker, PhD, MPH, Michelle Sherman, PhD  

 
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in primary care and associated with many physical and psychiatric comorbidities.1 There are existing evidence-based psychotherapy models for PTSD, but these treatments are lengthy, intensive, and have high drop-out rates. The purpose of this project is to examine the acceptability and feasibility of a new evidence based 5-session psychotherapy for patients with PTSD, Written Exposure Therapy (WET)2 in two family medicine residency clinics. A brief therapy model (5 visits; 30-minute sessions) makes WET ideal for the primary care setting. Research in other settings has found that patients treated with WET are less likely to discontinue treatment and experience similar outcomes to patients who complete more intensive PTSD treatments.3 Family Medicine’s holistic approach to care, as well as the integration of behavioral health in family medicine residency clinics, makes this setting ideal for this treatment. Collaboration among physicians and behavioral health providers is essential in implementing and evaluating new models of care that are feasible and acceptable in the primary care setting. This study will examine the extent to which WET is feasibly administered in a primary care setting and acceptable to patients to determine whether a large implementation trial is warranted.      

Click here for the session evaluation.