The State of the Science on Accessible, Scalable, and Effective Psychotherapies for PTSD

Please note that all registrations have to be paid in full before the event takes place - otherwise you will miss out on receiving the Zoom link. This event will be recorded for all those who are registered on the day. Recording is available for three weeks.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common and is associated with both high personal and societal costs. Effective psychological treatments for PTSD exist. Recent clinical practice guidelines from several organizations have updated recommendations for the treatment of PTSD based on a review of the research evidence. Moreover, since the publication of those guidelines, promising new treatments have been developed, as well as new advances in treatment delivery. Dr. Kaysen will provide an overview of the guidelines and discuss the psychological treatments for PTSD for adults that were strongly recommended. All treatment guidelines, using differing strategies for reviewing the research evidence, strongly recommended trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapies, including Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure. Dr. Kaysen will describe these approaches. She will highlight promising new developments in PTSD treatment, such as modifying PTSD treatment delivery, using massed treatments, optimizing treatments, and incorporating digital health elements. 

Learning objectives:

1.    Identify the indications and contraindications for evidence based psychotherapies for PTSD.

2.    Compare the current evidence based psychotherapies for PTSD.

3.     Describe two new developments in PTSD treatments or treatment delivery.

4.     Discuss how new developments in PTSD treatment may impact access to care.

PRESENTER: Professor Debra Kaysen, PhD, ABPP (USA)

Debra Kaysen is a Professor and is the Chief of the Division of Public Mental Health and Population Sciences in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University. Her area of specialty both in research and clinical work is in treatment for those who have experienced traumatic events including treatment of PTSD and related disorders. She is one of the leading researchers in the adaptation of trauma-focused treatments to increase access to care across diverse populations and in expanding access to treatment outside of specialty care settings. Other research conducted by Dr. Kaysen have focused on increasing our understanding of PTSD and substance use. Dr. Kaysen is a Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (www.istss.org). Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Department of Defense, PCORI, and USAID. Dr. Kaysen is a national trainer in Cognitive Processing Therapy and Written Exposure Therapy. Dr. Kaysen's clinical work has been featured on This American Life (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/682/ten-sessions).