VA residential treatment providers' use of two evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD: Global endorsement versus specific components.

Abstract

Despite a growing body of knowledge about the dissemination of evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs), their actual use in clinical settings is not well understood. The purpose of the current study was to compare self-reported component use with global use for 2 EBPs for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prolonged exposure (PE), and cognitive processing therapy (CPT). Around 174 providers from 38 VA PTSD residential treatment programs were asked about both global use and component use of PE and CPT. Among frequent users of these EBPs, component use was generally high, especially for low-intensity and nonspecific components. For each form of treatment, there were a small number of providers who reported using the treatment frequently but did not use most of the key components of the treatment. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the modifications that providers make to EBPs and suggest the importance of flexibility within fidelity to these treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record