Optimizing Allocation to Telehealth and In-Person Prolonged Exposure for Women Veterans with Military Sexual Trauma: A Precision Medicine Approach.

Military sexual trauma-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent and costly among women veterans, making the need for effective and accessible treatment of critical importance. Access to care is a key mechanism of mental health disparities and might affect differential response to treatment. The goal of this study was to estimate an individualized treatment rule based on readily available individual characteristics related to access to care to optimize allocation to in-person vs.

Intolerance of uncertainty on distress and impairment: The mediating role of repetitive negative thinking.

Repetitive negative thinking and intolerance of uncertainty are risk and maintenance factors for emotional disorders. Although emerging evidence suggests that intolerance of uncertainty predicts increases in distress through repetitive negative thinking, these relationships have yet to be investigated among veterans. The present study examines if repetitive negative thinking mediates the relationships of intolerance of uncertainty with stress, disordered symptoms and impairment among a mixed clinical sample of veterans.

A machine learning personalized treatment rule to optimize assignment to psychotherapies for grief among veterans.

Background: Complex grief patterns are associated with significant suffering, functional impairments, health and mental health problems, and increased healthcare use. This burden may be even more pronounced among veterans. Behavioral Activation and Therapeutic Exposure (BATE-G) and Cognitive Therapy for Grief (CT-G) are two evidence-based interventions for grief.

Differential relations between breathing retraining, in vivo exposure, and imaginal exposure homework completion and treatment outcomes in veterans receiving prolonged exposure for PTSD.

Objectives: Limited research exists that outlines the predictive relevance of the treatment components of prolonged exposure (PE) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on PTSD and depression symptom outcomes. The goal of the present study was to investigate relations between participant completion of breathing retraining, in vivo exposure, and imaginal exposure exercises and symptom outcomes.

Methods: A total of 58 participants completed a trial of PE as part of a larger trial on peer involvement and treatment adherence.

Exploring trajectories in transdiagnostic behavior therapy.

Transdiagnostic treatments have been designed to target common processes for clusters of disorders. One such treatment, transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT), targets avoidance across emotional disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders, and has demonstrated efficacy in randomized controlled trials. The current study was designed to examine whether distinct treatment trajectories would emerge in a sample of 112 veterans receiving TBT and whether diagnostic comorbidity, baseline levels of several transdiagnostic risk factors, or treatment engagement influence trajectory membership.

Anxiety sensitivity and social support in veterans with emotional disorders.

Objective: An understanding of the incremental value of social support in predicting psychopathology above transdiagnostic risk factors could speak to the benefit of leveraging social factors into existing, evidence-based interventions in veterans with emotional disorders. This cross-sectional study aimed to expand our understanding of associations between domains of anxiety sensitivity and facets of psychopathology in veterans with emotional disorders. We also determined whether social support predicted psychopathology above anxiety sensitivity domains and combat exposure and explored these relationships with a path model.

Influence of comorbid social anxiety disorder in PTSD treatment outcomes for Prolonged Exposure in female military sexual trauma survivors with PTSD.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common psychiatric disorder that frequently presents alongside other comorbid diagnoses. Although several evidence-based psychotherapies have been well-studied for PTSD, limited research has focused on the influence of diagnostic comorbidity on their outcomes. The present study sought to investigate the influence of comorbid social anxiety disorder on treatment outcomes in patients with PTSD.

When to end a lock down? How fast must vaccination campaigns proceed in order to keep health costs in check?

We propose a simple rule of thumb for countries which have embarked on a vaccination campaign while still facing the need to keep non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in place because of the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2. If the aim is to keep the death rate from increasing, NPIs can be loosened when it is possible to vaccinate more than twice the growth rate of new cases. If the aim is to keep the pressure on hospitals under control, the vaccination rate has to be about four times higher.

Comorbidity as a moderator of the differential efficacy of transdiagnostic behavior therapy and behavioral activation for affective disorders.

Objective: Transdiagnostic psychotherapies have been proposed as an effective means for addressing the needs of patients with multiple, comorbid disorders. Yet, it remains unknown whether transdiagnostic approaches empirically outperform disorder-specific psychotherapies for patients with comorbid disorders. Thus, this study tested whether comorbidity moderated the efficacy of transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT) and behavioral activation (BA) for patients with various affective disorders.

A comparison of transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT) and behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD) in veterans with major depressive disorder.

Objectives: Although frequently discussed within the scope of transdiagnostic psychotherapy protocols, limited data are available on their efficacy in patients with a principal diagnosis of major depressive disorder. The present study attempted to address that gap in the literature through a randomized clinical trial comparing transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT) to behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD).

Methods: Forty veterans with principal major depressive disorder were randomized into either 12 sessions of individual TBT or BATD, with symptom measures collected at baseline and posttreatment.

The economics of stop-and-go epidemic control.

We analyse 'stop-and-go' containment policies that produce infection cycles as periods of tight lockdowns are followed by periods of falling infection rates. The subsequent relaxation of containment measures allows cases to increase again until another lockdown is imposed and the cycle repeats. The policies followed by several European countries during the Covid-19 pandemic seem to fit this pattern.

Temporal dynamics of symptom change among veterans receiving an integrated treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders.

The present study examined temporal patterns of symptom change during treatment for comorbid posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs). We hypothesized that PTSD symptom severity would predict subsequent-session substance use and that this association would be particularly strong among patients who received an integrated treatment versus SUD-only treatment. Participants were 81 United States military veterans with current PTSD and an SUD who were enrolled in a 12-week, randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of an integrated treatment called Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE) compared with cognitive behavioral relapse prevention therapy (RP).

Lockdowns and the US Unemployment Crisis.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented decline of economic activity at the globe scale. To slow down the spread of the virus, most governments reacted with various measures of social distancing, such as mobility controls, business and school closures, etc. We investigate the short-term impact of social distancing measures on the US labour market, using a panel threshold model with high frequency (weekly) data on unemployment across US states allowing for heteroscedasticity.

Containment efficiency and control strategies for the corona pandemic costs.

The rapid spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) confronts policy makers with the problem of measuring the effectiveness of containment strategies, balancing public health considerations with the economic costs of social distancing measures. We introduce a modified epidemic model that we name the controlled-SIR model, in which the disease reproduction rate evolves dynamically in response to political and societal reactions. An analytic solution is presented.

Treatment Goals and Alcohol Use Outcomes in Veterans With Comorbid Alcohol Dependence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Background And Objectives: Previous research demonstrates the utility of goals in attaining improved drinking outcomes. Considerably less is known about the association between substance use goals and outcomes among persons with comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This secondary analysis examined the association between alcohol use outcomes and participants' treatment entry substance use goals to either abstain or reduce substance use in the context of treatment for comorbid SUD/PTSD.

Social Distancing Requirements and the Determinants of the COVID-19 Recession and Recovery in Europe.

Social distancing restrictions, as measured by the Oxford stringency indicator, constitute the one variable that is most tightly correlated with the recession and recovery across EU member states.

Response-to-Treatment for Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress and Substance Use Disorders: The Value of Combining Person- and Variable-Centered Approaches.

Optimizing treatment for co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder (PTSD+SUD) is critically important. Whereas treatments have been designed that target PTSD+SUD with some success, these treatments do not benefit all. Data-driven approaches that combine person- and variable-centered methods, such as parallel process latent class growth analysis (PP-LCGA) can be used to identify response-to-treatment trajectories across both PTSD symptoms and substance use.

Preliminary Findings for Group Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy for Affective Disorders Among Youths.

Objective: The literature on transdiagnostic psychotherapy among youths is limited. Group transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT) has been shown to be effective for adults with affective disorders and may contain beneficial features for youths (e.g.

Acceptability of a transdiagnostic behavior therapy in veterans with affective disorders.

Transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT) has been found to lead to significant reductions in affective disorder symptoms. However, patient satisfaction and treatment fit for TBT have not been examined. Within a sample of veterans, the current study examined the acceptability of TBT in comparison to brief behavioral activation (BA) for depression.

Efficacy of transdiagnostic behavior therapy on transdiagnostic avoidance in veterans with emotional disorders.

Objective: To date, transdiagnostic treatments have primarily investigated treatment outcomes of general psychiatric symptomatology, rather than the specific transdiagnostic symptoms implicated in their protocols. The present study sought to address this significant gap in the literature by investigating the effect of transdiagnostic behavior therapy (TBT) on transdiagnostic avoidance.

Method: Forty-four veterans diagnosed with various emotional disorders initiated TBT, and completed diagnostic and self-report measures at pre- and posttreatment.

An Open Trial of Behavioral Activation in Veterans With Major Depressive Disorder or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Primary Care.

Objective: Integrated behavioral health programs provide brief evaluations and interventions to patients with psychiatric symptoms in primary care. These programs seek to decrease stigma and improve access to mental health services. Several psychotherapeutic interventions are available to providers, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.