title: Psychotherapy practices for veterans with PTSD among community-based providers in Texas.
abstract: Significant changes in national health policy, like the Veterans Choice Act, have created growing opportunities for veterans to receive care outside of the Veterans Administration (VA), yet little is known about the attitudes and practices in PTSD care of community providers, particularly their use of evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs). The authors assessed psychotherapy practices of community providers serving veterans with PTSD in Texas. They surveyed Texas mental health providers regarding their patient population, practice setting, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related screening, assessment, and treatment practices. They identified providers from state licensing board rosters and included a stratified sample of social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors (500 each), all psychologists with available email addresses (n = 3,986), and 106 providers known to have completed state-sponsored training for 1 of the EBPs for PTSD, cognitive processing therapy. Four hundred sixty-three eligible respondents returned surveys (15% response rate). Providers reported treating a mean of 7.9 veterans with PTSD in the past year (range = 0-200; SD = 20.5), using a variety of therapeutic approaches for PTSD. Only 15.0% of providers reported regularly conducting psychotherapy for PTSD following a treatment manual, and fewer than half reported any use of EBPs for PTSD with patients. Although many veterans are receiving treatment for PTSD in the community, many community-based mental health providers in Texas do not consistently use recommended treatments for PTSD. These findings may suggest an important opportunity for VA to engage and partner with community providers to achieve high-quality care for veterans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Erin P
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4497-7721
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Finley
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Polly H
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1519-7489
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Noël
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Shuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haro
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, Palo Alto Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bernardy
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Mary Jo
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4196-7763
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pugh
authors.affiliation: South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
authors.forename: Jacqueline A
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4933-141X
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pugh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000628:therapy*; D013781:Texas; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*