Pretreatment stabilization increases completion of trauma-focused evidence-based psychotherapies.

Objective: Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) initiate and complete cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) at low rates within Veterans Health Administration (VHA) despite substantial dissemination and training. This study investigated how trauma-informed, skills-based treatment ("stabilization") administered before CPT and PE was related to initiation and completion of trauma-focused evidence-based psychotherapies (TF-EBPs).

Method: Data were extracted from the VHA electronic medical record to identify veterans who initiated outpatient treatment in the PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) at a Veterans Affairs Health Care System.