Category: Schizophrenia / Psychotic Disorders
Clinical Roundtable
Clinical Round Table 1 - Enhancing Recovery From PTSD With Co-Occurring Psychosis in Veterans
Keywords: Psychosis / Psychotic Disorders | PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) | Veterans
Presentation Type: Clinical Roundtable
- DP
- YG
- EE
- FA
.jpg "Carolyn Allard, Ph.D. photo")
Presenter(s)
Moderator(s)
The primary goal of this clinical roundtable is to describe the adaptation of cognitive behavioral treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for Veterans with co-occurring psychosis in an interdisciplinary recovery-oriented system of care. Individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders report an extremely high prevalence of trauma and rates of PTSD approximately five times higher than those in the general population. In clinical practice however, PTSD is gravely underdiagnosed in people with psychosis, and when it is diagnosed, clinicians are often hesitant to utilize PTSD treatments, fearing that they would result in symptom exacerbation and destabilization. The panelists will review recent evidence of the efficacy of trauma-focused CBT interventions in people with psychosis and present guidance on addressing the numerous challenges of working with this population, including the difficulty of diagnostically disentangling PTSD from psychosis, cultural considerations, and systemic challenges presented by the healthcare system. They will describe lessons learned from adapting both group and individual Cognitive Processing Therapy in an outpatient psychosis program, and the piloting of a brief, intensive CBT-informed trauma-focused treatment on an inpatient psychiatric unit. The panel will also describe how to maximize the impact of treatment in this population by delivering it within a recovery-oriented service framework that emphasizes the attainment of personally meaningful life goals (beyond symptom reduction) via community engagement and social support building, and the unique and valuable ability of Peer Support Specialists to support these efforts.
Learning Objectives:
- Summarize current research on prevalence and treatment of PTSD in people diagnosed with psychotic disorders.
- Provide guidance on addressing challenges in assessing and treating PTSD with comorbid psychosis.
- Discuss adaptation of CBT interventions for PTSD with comorbid psychosis delivered in a recovery-oriented service framework.