Lessons Learned in Implementing VA Video Connect for Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for Anxiety and Depression in the Veterans Healthcare Administration.

A top priority for the Veteran's Healthcare Administration is improving access to high-quality mental healthcare. Mobile and telemental healthcare are a vital component of increasing access for veterans. The Veteran's Healthcare Administration is making efforts to further broaden how veterans receive their care through VA Video Connect, which allows veterans to connect with their provider from their residence or workplace.

Emotional Processing of Imaginal Exposures Predicts Symptom Improvement: Therapist Ratings Can Assess Trajectory in Prolonged Exposure for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Research on mechanisms of change in prolonged exposure therapy (PE), an evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is ongoing. Two putative mechanisms of change are engagement during imaginal exposure and trauma-related belief change. The PE Therapist Questionnaire (PETQ), a novel measure based on the emotional processing theory underlying PE, was developed as a practical tool for therapists to use to assess (a) patient engagement during imaginal exposures and (b) perspective shifts during postimaginal processing.

An adjunctive human-animal interaction intervention for veterans with PTSD: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rarely remits over time, and if left untreated, leads to significant distress, functional impairment, and increased health care costs. Fortunately, effective evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for PTSD, such as Prolonged Exposure (PE), exist. Despite their availability and efficacy, a significant number of individuals with PTSD do not initiate treatment when offered or dropout prematurely.

Treatment for Anxiety and Depression via Clinical Videoconferencing: Evidence Base and Barriers to Expanded Access in Practice.

This review summarizes six decades of clinical outcome research relevant to evidence-based practices for depression and anxiety delivered via clinical videoconferencing. The authors conducted a literature search of previous systematic reviews and an updated search of publications specific to anxiety and depression. Overall, strong evidence supports the safety and clinical effectiveness of administering evidence-based psychotherapy for anxiety and depression via clinical videoconferencing among heterogeneous populations and age ranges, and in multiple care settings, with similar outcomes to in-person care.

Evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) non-initiation among veterans offered an EBP for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Current efforts to disseminate evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) have made effective treatment options more available throughout the system. Yet many veterans identified as likely to benefit from such services choose not to utilize them. The evidence base regarding factors that contribute to treatment initiation among those offered EBPs is still in its early stages.

Depression sudden gains and transient depression spikes during treatment for PTSD.

Objective: We know little about how change unfolds in depression symptoms during posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment or how patient characteristics predict depression symptom change. This study examined critical transition points in depression symptoms during PTSD treatment, namely, depression sudden gains, which are rapid symptom improvements and transient depression spikes, which are transient depression worsenings. Social support, one of the strongest predictors of PTSD development, was examined as a predictor of depression symptom discontinuities.

Patterns of therapeutic alliance: rupture-repair episodes in prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Objective: To better understand the role of therapeutic alliance in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, we examined patterns of and shifts in alliance. First, we identified individuals with repaired ruptures, unrepaired ruptures, and no ruptures in alliance. Then, we explored group differences in these alliance events for clients with common clinical correlates (i.

"How will it help me?" Reasons underlying treatment preferences between sertraline and prolonged exposure in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often wait years before seeking treatment. Improving treatment initiation and adherence requires a better understanding of patient beliefs that lead to treatment preferences. Using a treatment-seeking sample (N = 200) with chronic PTSD, qualitative reasons underlying treatment preferences for either prolonged exposure (PE) or sertraline (SER) were examined.

Understanding factors associated with early therapeutic alliance in PTSD treatment: adherence, childhood sexual abuse history, and social support.

Objective: Therapeutic alliance has been associated with better treatment engagement, better adherence, and less dropout across various treatments and disorders. In treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it may be particularly important to establish a strong early alliance to facilitate treatment adherence. However, factors such as childhood sexual abuse (CSA) history and poor social support may impede the development of early alliance in those receiving PTSD treatment.