Using network analysis to characterize clinical improvement during cognitive processing therapy.

Objective: Cross-sectional network studies find mixed results regarding changes in network structure as a response to treatment across disorders. This study characterized improvement in mental health following Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD in veterans from the perspective of network psychometrics and explored how cross-sectional networks inform our understanding of PTSD recovery.

Methods: Veterans with PTSD participated in CPT-based intensive treatment programs (ITPs), offered in two-week (N = 635) or three-week (N = 457) formats.

A Novel Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Generative AI Tool (Socrates 2.0) to Facilitate Socratic Dialogue: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.

Background: Digital mental health tools, designed to augment traditional mental health treatments, are becoming increasingly important due to a wide range of barriers to accessing mental health care, including a growing shortage of clinicians. Most existing tools use rule-based algorithms, often leading to interactions that feel unnatural compared with human therapists. Large language models (LLMs) offer a solution for the development of more natural, engaging digital tools.

The Cost of Procuring Deceased Donor Livers: Evidence From US Organ Procurement Organization Cost Reports, 2013-2018.

Deceased donor organs for transplantation are costly. Expenses include donor assessment, pre-operative care of acceptable donors, surgical organ recovery, preservation and transport, and other costs. US Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) serve defined geographic areas in which each OPO has exclusive organ recovery responsibilities including detailed reporting of costs.

Reductions in PTSD severity precede reductions in pain intensity among veterans receiving intensive treatment.

Objective: Chronic pain often co-occurs with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The mutual maintenance hypothesis proposes that there may be shared underlying mechanisms of symptoms of pain exacerbating PTSD, and vice versa. The association between PTSD and pain intensity remains understudied.

The Medical Costs of Determining Eligibility and Waiting for a Kidney Transplantation.

Background: Recent efforts to increase access to kidney transplant (KTx) in the United States include increasing referrals to transplant programs, leading to more pretransplant services. Transplant programs reconcile the costs of these services through the Organ Acquisition Cost Center (OACC).

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the costs associated with pretransplant services by applying microeconomic methods to OACC costs reported by transplant hospitals.

Changes in emotion regulation difficulties and PTSD symptom severity in an intensive treatment program for PTSD.

Background: Greater difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and decreased use of adaptive ER strategies have been associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To date, limited research has explored whether ER improves with PTSD treatment or whether such improvements are linked with improvements in PTSD symptoms.

Methods: Veterans and service members with PTSD (N = 223) participated in a 2-week intensive treatment program (ITP) based in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).

A latent profile analysis of moral emotions following moral transgressions.

Objective: Moral transgressions (MTs), events that violate one's moral code, are associated with the moral emotions of guilt and shame. However, there may be different patterns by which people experience guilt and shame that affect distress following MTs.

Method: Undergraduates (N = 1371) exposed to an MT completed self-report assessments.

Posttraumatic cognition change trajectories in veterans with PTSD who completed an intensive Cognitive Processing Therapy treatment program.

Negative posttraumatic cognitions (NPCs) have been linked to symptoms of PTSD and are an important target of cognitive behavioral treatments for PTSD, including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Yet to be explored are the different change trajectories of NPCs during CPT. Knowledge of such change trajectories could elucidate common NPC change processes within CPT and their relationship to PTSD symptom severity.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor and treatment outcomes among veterans attending an intensive treatment program for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may play an important role in the success of treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Pre- and post-treatment blood samples were analyzed for 40 veterans who completed a 3-week intensive outpatient treatment for PTSD. The treatment included Cognitive Processing Therapy, mindfulness, and yoga as core treatment components.

Using the Personalized Advantage Index to determine which veterans may benefit from more vs. less comprehensive intensive PTSD treatment programs.

Intensive PTSD treatment programs (ITPs) are highly effective but tend to differ greatly in length and the number of adjunctive services that are provided in conjunction with evidence-based PTSD treatments. Individuals' treatment response to more or less comprehensive ITPs is poorly understood. To apply a machine learning-based decision-making model (the Personalized Advantage Index (PAI)), using clinical and demographic factors to predict response to more or less comprehensive ITPs.

Using machine learning to predict sudden gains in intensive treatment for PTSD.

Sudden gains have been found in PTSD treatment across samples and treatment modality. Sudden gains have consistently predicted better treatment response, illustrating clear clinical implications, though attempts to identify predictors of sudden gains have produced inconsistent findings. To date, sudden gains have not been examined in intensive PTSD treatment programs (ITPs).

Examining trauma cognition change trajectories among initial PTSD treatment non-optimal responders: a potential avenue to guide subsequent treatment selection.

Background: Despite their general effectiveness, 14-50% of individuals do not fully respond to evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although changes in negative posttrauma cognitions (NPCs) are considered a likely PTSD treatment mechanism, less is known about how NPCs change among individuals who continue to be symptomatic following treatment (non-optimal responders).

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine NPC change trajectories among individuals who were determined to be non-optimally responsive to intensive PTSD treatment.

Demonstration of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference in an LNOI directional coupler.

Interference between single photons is key for many quantum optics experiments and applications in quantum technologies, such as quantum communication or computation. It is advantageous to operate the systems at telecommunication wavelengths and to integrate the setups for these applications in order to improve stability, compactness and scalability. A new promising material platform for integrated quantum optics is lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI).

More is not always better: 2 weeks of intensive cognitive processing therapy-based treatment are noninferior to 3 weeks.

Objective: Although there is mounting evidence that massed treatment for PTSD is both feasible and effective, many questions remain about the optimal length of intensive treatment programs (ITPs), as well as the role of adjunctive services, such as psychoeducation, mindfulness, and yoga. Our setting recently transitioned from a three-week ITP to a two-week program. Adjunctive services were reduced, but the amount of individual CPT between programs remained similar.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and depression residual symptoms among veterans and service members who completed a 3-week cognitive processing therapy-based intensive treatment program.

Objective: While previous studies have documented that evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are efficacious, treatment completers often continue to experience residual symptoms. However, no studies to date have assessed residual symptoms following intensive treatment programs (ITPs) for PTSD, which combine evidence-based PTSD treatment along with adjunctive interventions. The present study examined residual symptoms of PTSD and depression in 482 veterans and service members who completed a 3-week Cognitive Processing Therapy-based ITP.

Evaluating changes in negative posttrauma cognition as a mechanism of PTSD severity changes in two separate intensive treatment programs for veterans.

Background: A wealth of evidence has illustrated that reductions in negative posttrauma cognitions (NPCs) predict improvement in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during treatment. Yet, the specific temporal arrangement of changes in these constructs is less well understood. This study examined the temporal association between NPC changes and PTSD symptom changes in two distinct intensive PTSD treatment samples.

Moving toward precision PTSD treatment: predicting veterans' intensive PTSD treatment response using continuously updating machine learning models.

Background: Considerable heterogeneity exists in treatment response to first-line posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Relatively little is known about the timing of when during a course of care the treatment response becomes apparent. Novel machine learning methods, especially continuously updating prediction models, have the potential to address these gaps in our understanding of response and optimize PTSD treatment.

The role of time since trauma on treatment outcomes of veterans in two intensive posttraumatic stress disorder treatment programs.

Research on the impact of time since trauma (TST) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment outcomes lacks consensus and has not been examined in cognitive processing therapy (CPT)-based intensive PTSD treatment programs (ITPs). Furthermore, little is known about how TST impacts other trauma-related outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and negative posttrauma cognitions. We examined whether TST predicted severity and changes in PTSD and depressive symptoms and negative posttrauma cognitions, controlling for trauma type (combat or military sexual trauma), age, sex, and race, in two separate samples of veterans with PTSD who completed 2-week (n = 132) or 3-week (n = 407) CPT-based ITPs.

Changes in guilt cognitions in intensive PTSD treatment among veterans who experienced military sexual trauma or combat trauma.

Unresolved trauma-related guilt has been identified as a factor that can intensify posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD symptomology and is associated with many negative mental health outcomes. Evidence-based treatments, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), have been shown to successfully reduce trauma-related guilt. However, less is known about how trauma-related guilt cognitions change over the course of PTSD treatment and, more specifically, intensive PTSD treatments.