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Live Webinar

Veteran PTSD Care: Screening, Diagnosis & Treatment

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Information

Date & Time

Description

This workshop will review clinical interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a veteran population of warfighters, including screening, diagnosis, and treatment approaches for traumatized veterans coping with intrusion or avoidance symptoms in suboptimal, “anti-therapeutic” environments. These may include receiving PTSD interventions while stationed overseas in a foreign country, during deployment to a war zone, after being wounded in action, or while navigating a medical evaluation board, medical separation, or medical retirement from the military. The workshop will also address treatment in the context of additional stressors, such as facing accusations under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), or while experiencing unemployment, incarceration, or housing instability.

In addition, this training will explore whether moral injury can trigger the onset of posttraumatic symptoms; whether positive religious coping enhances resiliency, and how traumatized individuals can make meaningful clinical improvements that embrace the therapeutic goal of posttraumatic growth (PTG).

Finally, this training will discuss how medical and mental health providers – such as clinical counselors, social workers, and first responders – can avoid burnout, compassion fatigue, and the onset of posttraumatic symptoms.

Educational Goal

This workshop will discuss, among a veteran population of warfighters, the challenges of PTSD screening and diagnosis, as well as best practices for PTSD prevention, intervention, and treatment.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Screen for potentially traumatizing events (PTEs).

  • Assess the severity of posttraumatic symptoms using norm-based interview instruments such as the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for the DSM-5 (CAPS-5), Brief Trauma Questionnaire (BTQ), Combat Exposure Scale, and Life Stressor Checklist.

  • Select empirically supported trauma treatments that mitigate and alleviate triggers of potentially traumatizing events (PTSs), acute stress disorder (ASD), compassion fatigue, burnout, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including psychological first aid (PFA), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), reality therapy, Rogerian therapy, and Twelve Step interventions.

Target Audience

  • Addiction Professional
  • Counselor
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker

Presenters

Dr. Mark Robertson is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Certified Trauma Treatment Specialist (CTTS), and a Diplomate in the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP). Furthermore, Dr. Mark Robertson is retired military. Before military-medical retirement, he was a Board Certified Chaplain (BCC). As a military chaplain, Dr. Robertson deployed three times in support of combat operations. He receives Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) for service during the Iraq War. From 1999 to 2014, Dr. Roberston worked as an emergency room (ER) chaplain in Level One Trauma Centers. Dr. Robertson specializes in crisis intervention, addiction treatment, trauma pastoral care, critical incident stress management (CISM), and mass casualty (MASCAL) response. Finally, Dr. Robertson is a published author. His book is entitled, Emergency Room Chaplain: Crisis Response and Clinical Care for First Responders and Combat Veterans. This book, ER Chaplain, is a collection of PTSD case studies, written from the perspective of DSM diagnosis. The research question, underlying 50,000 hours of clinical experience, is, “How can death-casualty notifications be delivered in ways that encourage posttraumatic growth, instead of producing posttraumatic stress?” Each intervention considers ways to mitigate moral injury, to encourage religious coping, and to facilitate posttraumatic growth (PTG).

Financially Sponsored By

  • Leidos