Practical for Your Practice: Recent Episodes
The Center for Deployment Psychology
Three clinical psychologists and trainers at CDP come together to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of actually implementing Evidence-Based Psychotherapies (EBP’s). Practical for your Practice is a bi-weekly podcast featuring stories, ideas, support, and actionable intel to empower providers to keep working toward implementing EBP’s with fidelity and effectiveness. This project is sponsored by the Uniformed Services University (USU); however, the information or content and conclusions do not necessarily represent the official position or policy of, nor should any official endorsement be inferred on the part of, USU, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Treatment of nightmares is an evolving field. Today we’re joined by Dr. Shantel Fernandez Lopez, who introduces us to a treatment option for youth. Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescripting Therapy (ERRT) is one of the evidence-based treatments for nightmares. Though it was originally developed for adults, modifications have been made for use with children and adolescents. As one of the treatment developers, Dr. Fernandez Lopez walks us through those evolutions and shares examples of ERRT in practice….including how to use Scooby Snacks to reclaim good sleep!
Calls-to-action:
Visit CBT Nightmares Web to complete a free training on CBT for Nightmares (CBT-N).
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Medication-Assisted Treatment may be intimidating, but it can also be life-saving for clients who are facing withdrawal from opioid or alcohol dependency. Today we’re joined by Catherine Perri, Clinical Director of the Ripple Ranch. Catherine provides us with a crash course in understanding what MAT is, addressing the stigma associated with dual diagnoses, and the goal of utilizing MAT in conjunction with evidence-based psychotherapies to treat “the whole person.”
Calls-to-action:
- Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s website for a wealth of resources and unbiased recommendations: https://www.samhsa.gov/
- Learn more about the services available at The Ripple Ranch. https://rippleranch.com/
- Check out CDP’s free resources on motivational interviewing and motivational enhancement skills: https://deploymentpsych.org/Clinical-Skills-Resources
- Research and connect with MAT providers in your area. Collaboration is critical in this subfield.
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Eating disorders often have a “bad rap” as being intractable, difficult to treat, and dangerous. There is a wide range of eating disorders, each with their own unique features and challenges. And to make matters more complicated, many mental health providers do not receive focused training on how to treat these disorders, oftentimes leading to reticence to engage, worried that we’ll say or do the wrong thing. Fortunately there is an effective evidence-based psychotherapy for eating disorders–CBT-E (The E is for “Enhanced”). While CBT-E shares a lot of common ground with other standard CBT therapies, there are some distinct differences and enhancements that address the unique psychological challenges clients with eating disorders face. Join us with Dr. Suzanne Straebler, psychologist and expert in treating eating disorders, as she discusses CBT-E, its general components, and how you can receive focused training to treat these disorders.
Calls-to-action:
- Screen patients for eating disorders – A brief 5-question screener can be found at – https://eatingdisorderscreener.org/ (*This screener may miss individuals with Binge Eating Disorder. Don’t avoid asking questions about one’s view of their shape and weight and comfort with their current eating habits).
- Check your own weight bias and stigma and consider how it may impact your views on who can have an eating disorder and its impact on treatment of individuals of all body shapes and sizes– some information can be found here - https://nedc.com.au/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-explained/weight-stigma
- Eating disorders are treatable with well implemented evidence-based treatments – find out more about one of these treatments, CBT-E, here – https://www.cbte.co/
- Consider registering for and attending an upcoming CBT-E workshop at CDP. You can find upcoming training opportunities here – https://deploymentpsych.org/training .
- Like what you’re hearing? Like this episode, subscribe to the podcast, and share with others!
Do you have questions for our hosts? Feedback from prior episodes? Want to share your own “What Is Your Why?” story? Join us on Aug 13, 2024 from 1000-1200 EDT for our first-ever “Live” episode of Practical For Your Practice. Call us at 301-715-8592, code: 4878058925# to talk to our hosts live. Or if you can’t make it at that time, leave us a voicemail message at https://speakpipe.com/cdpp4p or an email at cdp-podcast-ggg@usuhs.edu. While the episode will not be broadcast/streamed live, we will record, edit, and include the discussion in our final episode of the season. Come join the conversation!
Always been curious about working with the National Guard or Reserves? In this not-to-miss episode we sit down with CDP’s own Jennifer Nevers who not only serves as an integral team member of the Star Behavioral Health Providers Program (SBHP) that aims to expand the availability of high-quality behavioral health services, especially for those in the reserve components BUT Jennifer is also a Major in the Indiana Army National Guard serving as a Behavioral Health Officer (BHO). Jennifer shares her “WHY” with us, both why she chose to join the National Guard as well as why she’s passionate about improving access and quality of care for this population. Come hear about some of the unique opportunities and challenges of serving in the reserve component as well as actionable intel that includes amazing free resources to support YOUR work to include the SBHP program.
Calls-to-action:
- Opt-in to receive training updates from the Start Behavioral Health Providers Program: SBHP Training Opt-In | Center for Deployment Psychology
- Learn About Military Culture | Center for Deployment Psychology
- Take the Self Awareness Exercise | Center for Deployment Psychology
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Working with clients with suicidal thoughts and behaviors is one of the more difficult and challenging aspects of being a behavioral health provider. This is perhaps even more so when the client is a child or adolescent. An important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of working with suicidal youth is working with and supporting their caregivers–moms, dads, grandparents, whoever may be primarily responsible for their care. How can we best support them while they are dealing with the scary unknown territory of suicide risk management for their child? At at time when almost 20% of high school students report suicidal ideation in the past year, and 10% report a suicide attempt in the same time period, join us for this vital discussion about caregiver care after youth self-directed violence.
Calls-to-action:
- Check out the resources Dr. Arango mentioned in the episode.
- Watch Dr. Arango’s CDP Presents Webinar: “Social Connectedness and Youth Suicide Prevention” July 11, 2024
Leave the P4P team a voicemail with your reactions, questions, requests for topics or guests, or anything else you’d like to share. We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at speakpipe.com/cdpp4p.
On this episode, Carin and Kevin are joined by long-time host and Friend of CDP, Dr. Andy Santanelllo. Andy has been focused on dissemination and implementation science through The ACT Academy, and returns to the P4P Podcast to share ideas about how we can deliver EBPs more consistently and competently. His suggestions are not just aspirational or “fanciful,” but rather small tweaks that we can make to existing training, supervision, and consultation efforts. Join us as we catch up with Andy and discuss ways to merge cutting-edge science with practical applications for learners, instructors, supervisors, consultants, and everyone in between.
Calls-to-action:
- Include more “doing” and “real plays” in your training, supervision, and consultation.
- Frequently provide informed consent in experiential learning to keep the learning environment safe and professional.
- Ask for more experiential practice from your instructor or consultant
- Did you like this episode? Is there a topic you want us to cover on CDP’s P4P? Give us your feedback at www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Guess who's back? Back again… Welcome to Practical for your Practice (P4P) Season 5! Your hosts are excited to kick things off with a reveal of this season’s theme. On P4P, we believe in the importance of relating to each as a behavioral health podcast community. So in that vein, for Season 5 we will be asking our guests “what is their why.” What drew them into the field of behavioral health and the specific slice of the field that they're in? Behavioral health provider origin stories if you will. And what better way to kick things off than to have your hosts disclose theirs. You might even hear about their superpowers. So tune in to hear some actionable intel about career paths and get excited for a great season!
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
We asked for your EBP Confessionals and you delivered! Carin, Jenna, and Kevin are relieved to know they are not the only ones who have made blunders while delivering treatment. Today we discuss two “confessions” submitted by our listeners and Carin shares her experience of working with a client who was viscerally impacted by exposure therapy. Tune in for the season 4 finale of The Practical for Your Practice Podcast!
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
How do we support providers who are impacted by suicide loss? Although most of us are familiar with the importance of suicide prevention, we are less familiar with the concept of suicide postvention. Dr. Megan Harvey of the Rocky Mountain MIRECC joins us on this episode to discuss how we can compassionately and effectively support providers coping with a suicide loss, either professional or personal. Tune in for this important discussion.
Dr. Harvey is a psychologist with over 15 years of experience working within the VA Health System. She provides consultation and other services as part of the Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program housed by the Rocky Mountain MIRECC.
Resources:
- The Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program (SRM) provides free consultation, support, and resources to VA or non-VA providers who serve Veterans at risk for suicide. Visit their website SRM Home - MIRECC / CoE (va.gov) or reach out via email: srmconsult@va.gov
- The provider section of Uniting for Suicide Postvention (USPV) offers resources, guidance and support to those affected by suicide loss: https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn19/postvention/providers/
- Connect with the Coalition of Clinician Survivors for support: www.cliniciansurvivor.org
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): https://afsp.org/find-support/ive-lost-someone/
- American Association of Suicidology (AAS): https://suicidology.org/resources/suicide-loss-survivors/
- TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) for those impacted by military or Veteran suicide. https://www.taps.org/
Calls-to-action:
- Acknowledge the loss, whether it is your own or a colleague’s.
- If you have experienced a loss, talk to a supervisor, close friend, consultant, or personal therapist. Don’t grieve alone.
- Watch the following video on The Personal and Professional Impact of Suicide Loss: https://youtu.be/Gd4Vcn9tJ1E
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
- Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
In this episode, we discuss MATCH-ADTC, an evidence-based psychotherapy for young people struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma exposure, and/or conduct disorders. Our guest, Khristine Heflin, introduces us to this modular treatment that enables providers to meet each child’s unique needs. We discuss how this applies to the needs of military children, in particular, and wrap up with actionable intel on how to obtain training in this effective treatment.
Resources:
- Clinicians working in military treatment facilities can reach out to Program Lead, Dr. Jennifer Ulrich, to inquire about the MATCH-ADTC pilot training program. She can be reached at: Jennifer.a.ulbricht.civ@health.mil
- Non-military providers can pursue training in MATCH on the PracticeWise website: https://www.practicewise.com/
Calls-to-action:
Follow up on training resources if you are working with children and teens (or you want to start).
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
What if you could successfully treat PTSD in 2 weeks instead of 12? Massed delivery of PTSD treatments such as Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure are gaining empirical support. But how does it work and could you offer it to your patients? Our guest in this episode is at the forefront of research answering these questions. We’re joined by Dr. Cynthia Yamokoski, the Associate Director of the PTSD Mentoring Program at the National Center for PTSD. She shares the benefits and challenges of massed treatment for PTSD and provides suggestions for how to get started in your clinical practice. Of course, she also shares her “EBP Confession,” describing how she let her EBP pendulum swing too far. Listen in as Dr. Yamokoski leads us “through the fog.”
Cynthia Yamokoski, PhD is a clinical psychologist and the Associate Director of the PTSD Mentoring Program at the National Center for PTSD. She is a Senior Clinical Instructor at the Case Western Reserve University. She earned her doctorate from the University of Akron.
Dr. Yamokoski and her colleagues in Cleveland have developed and implemented an intensive 2- and 4-week PTSD program utilizing massed delivery of evidenced-based psychotherapy for PTSD, and she is facilitating the implementation of this model in additional PTSD programs within the VA system.
Resources:
- This American Life “Ten Sessions”: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/682/ten-sessions
- The PTSD Consultation Program at the National Center for PTSD: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/consult/index.asp
- This article provides a good summary of the massed treatment research to date: Wachen, J.S., Dondanville, K., Evans, W., Morris, K., & Cole, A. (2019). Adjusting the Timeframe of Evidence-Based Therapies for PTSD-Massed Treatments. Current Treatment Options in Psych. DOI 10.1007/s40501-019-00169-9
Calls-to-action: For example:
- Learn more about massed treatments by listening to the “Ten Sessions” episode of This American Life and reading relevant research.
- Utilize consultation as you start implementing massed treatment.
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
For many providers, the term “eating disorders” suggests a couple of somewhat familiar disorders like bulimia or anorexia. But, like with many things, the category is more complex and varied than that, not only in the types of disordered eating that can happen, but also the complex contributions from environment, social influences, physiology, crises such as the pandemic, and many other influences. So many providers, especially those of us that specialize in other things or are more generalist in approach, feel ill-prepared to assess or even ask about eating disorders in their clients, much less how to address these issues. And yet, eating disorders can be very disruptive to military readiness, ability to accomplish the mission, and function effectively in various domains of their lives. Fortunately, Dr. Deborah Glasofer shares with our hosts information about training opportunities being developed to help fill some of these skills gaps. Join us for a fascinating discussion about eating disorders, leveling the playing field, and increasing access to care for clients with ED challenges. Get PreparED with us!
Dr. Glasofer is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in psychiatry) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and clinical psychologist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She has been involved in a variety of psychotherapy development studies for eating disorders in adults, and has an interest in enhancing the training of healthcare providers and trainees in principles of eating disorders assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Within Columbia's Department of Psychiatry, she provides instruction to residents in cognitive behavioral therapy (for mood, anxiety, and eating disorders) and serves as a team member of CopeColumbia, a multidisciplinary group that formed during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide peer support and enhance wellbeing among healthcare providers and hospital staff. Dr. Glasofer enjoys writing for the popular press on topics related to mental health and has authored several books on eating disorders for clinicians, academics, and the general public.
Resources:
- https://prepared.nyspi.org/ - PreparED Eating Disorders Education website (32:05)
- https://nceedus.org/ - National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (32:12)
- https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org - National Eating Disorders Association (32:20)
- Overcoming Binge Eating by Christopher Fairburn (32:46)
- Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder, 2 Ed by James Lock and Daniel Le Grange (33:04)
- Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know by B. Timothy Walsh, Evelyn Attia, and Deborah R. Glasofer (33:22)
- CDP Presents - Eating Disorders - General and Military-Relevant Considerations: https://deploymentpsych.org/Eating-Disorders-Archive
Calls-to-action:
- Consider adding eating disorders as a category to inquire about at intake.
- Check out the resources above.
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Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
Just about everyone in the world has experienced something that can be characterized as a trauma. Humans are resilient, and most people recover on their own and function well. Some continue to be affected by trauma long after the fact, and it is not always easy to identify who that may be and how a history of adversity may impact our interactions. There is a difference between trauma-specific care (such as Cognitive Processing Therapy or Prolonged Exposure therapy) and trauma-informed care. Join us and our amazing guest, Dr. Lydia Bartholow, as we discuss trauma-informed care and how we can reorient from a “What’s wrong with you?” to a “What happened to you?” approach and implement psychological “universal precautions” to transform our systems to acknowledge a history of adversity.
Lydia Bartholow, DNP, PMHNP, CARN-AP, is a doctorally prepared psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in addiction medicine and trauma-informed care. She currently staffs and directs a trauma-informed urgent substance withdrawal management center. She is on faculty at UCSF, where she teaches in the psychiatric nurse practitioner program. She speaks nationally on topics such as co-occurring disorders, harm reduction, and substance use disorder care system improvement. She focuses all parts of her practice on radical public health, harm reduction, and anti-oppression work. Lydia lives in Portland, OR, on Chinook, Kathlamet, Clackamas, and Kalapuya land.
Resources:
- Lydia Bartholow’s website: https://www.lydiabartholow.com/ (6:58)
- Trauma-Informed Oregon: https://traumainformedoregon.org/ (33:08)
- SAMHSA.gov Trauma-informed Care: https://www.traumapolicy.org/topics/trauma-informed-care (33:29)
- Center for Healthcare Strategies’s Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center: https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/
Calls-to-action: For example:
- Trauma-Informed Psychoeducation skill: (from motivational interviewing) Elicit–Provide–Elicit: 1) elicit previous information/experience and ask permission to provide more information, 2) provide new information, 3) elicit their feedback about how they might apply/use/integrate the information provided
- Check out the resources at Trauma-Informed Oregon and SAMHSA (links above).
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Share your EBP fears with us at www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
One of the issues that providers may face in their clinical practice is deciding what treatment options might fit best for a client who has PTSD. While our brains often go to the first line treatments like PE, CPT and EMDR, sometimes a 10 - 12 session protocol isn't the best fit for the client in front of us who can’t commit to that treatment length or has other reasons that drive a different approach. To truly provide patient-driven care, we, as clinicians, need to have other EBP options at-the-ready to meet our clients where they are. In this episode CDP’s own Dr. Paula Domenici joins us to talk about her experience with using Written Exposure Therapy (WET) and how it has enhanced her clinical practice. Come dip your toes with us as we explore how WET might be a useful protocol to add to your clinical toolbox. You won’t want to miss Paula’s “EBP Confession” so stay tuned until the end!
Resources:
- Sloan, D. M., & Marx, B. P. (2019). Written exposure therapy for PTSD: A brief treatment approach for mental health professionals. American Psychological Association.
- CDP Presents Webinar: An Introduction to Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for PTSD
- NCPTSD on demand course: Written Exposure Therapy: A Brief PTSD Treatment
- RCT’s References:
- Exposure‐based writing therapies for subthreshold and clinical posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.
- Effectiveness of written exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system.
- Written exposure therapy vs prolonged exposure therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized clinical trial.
- A brief exposure-based treatment vs cognitive processing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized noninferiority clinical trial.
- Effect of written exposure therapy vs cognitive processing therapy on increasing treatment efficiency among military service members with posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized noninferiority trial.
Calls-to-action:
- Sloan, D. M., & Marx, B. P. (2019). Written exposure therapy for PTSD: A brief treatment approach for mental health professionals. American Psychological Association.
- CDP Presents Webinar: An Introduction to Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for PTSD
- NCPTSD on demand course: Written Exposure Therapy: A Brief PTSD Treatment
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
- Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
Today we are joined by Dr. Tim Rogers, one of our Subject Matter Experts on sleep disorders. He’s been spearheading CDP’s insomnia consultation offerings and joins Jenna and Carin to share the top 3 questions that have been asked lately. Tim has suggestions for how to score sleep logs most efficiently, dealing with comorbidities, and when to start insomnia treatment. Tim also enters our EBP Confessional Booth while Carin ponders the agony of early morning rising and Jenna shares her worst sleep puns. If that doesn’t get you excited about treating insomnia, nothing will!Resources:1) https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/staff-perspective-cracking-code-sleep-log-scoring2) https://vimeo.com/4207289013) https://deploymentpsych.org/Sleep-Log-Scoring-Video Calls-to-action: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4pRegister for a CBTI workshop: https://deploymentpsych.org/training
As many of our listeners know, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense (VA/DoD) Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) was released in June of 2023. The CPG, designed to assist clinical decision-making, provides recommendations that, in essence, give a clinician a fighting chance of identifying treatments that the research suggests should help their clients. But for many busy providers, it is a lot to unpack and digest! Join us as our (fearless) Director, Dr. David Riggs, who served on the CPG workgroup, walks us through important aspects of the guideline. We’ll discuss the why behind first and second-line treatments, updates from the last CPG, and actionable intel to support you in treating trauma. As with every episode this season, we invited Dave into the EBP confessional, and you won’t want to miss his story of a time when things didn’t quite go according to plan with a client AND how he recovered. Buckle up. It’s a roller coaster of a tale! Resources:1. VA/DoD CPG for PTSD (to include links to full CPG, Clinician Summary, Patient Summary, Quick Reference, and more): Click HERE 2. Webinar Recording “A Quick Walk Through the New VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD”: view HERE
Calls-to-action: Review the updated VA/DoD CPG for PTSD: Click HEREReview the recording of CDP’s webinar: “A Quick Walk Through the New VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD”: view HEREEnroll in an upcoming EBP for PTSD: https://deploymentpsych.org/trainingSubscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email Share your EBP fears with us on www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
In both the public and private sectors, demand for behavioral health care is outpacing availability and capacity. The pressure on the behavioral health system necessitates innovation with regards to the methods and models of therapeutic interventions. What can we do when there are just not enough therapy slots available on the calendar to accommodate the need? And how can these needs best be met when clinical presentations are becoming more diverse while evidence-based psychotherapies tend to be narrowly focused on specific diagnoses? Join us for a fascinating discussion with Drs. William Isler and Adam Hodge about an innovative transdiagnostic group therapy approach leveraging Unified Protocol to serve better those who serve–and beyond!William C. “Chuck” Isler, Ph.D.Dr Isler currently works as a civilian for the Air Force Counter-Insider Threat Hub. He served more than 20 years as an Active Duty Air Force Psychologist, completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology, worked on the fellowship faculty, and later became the Fellowship Director. Dr. Isler held multiple additional roles, including Consultant for Clinical Psychology, Deputy for the Mental Health Division, Chief, Deployment Mental Health, Program Manager for Primary Care Behavioral Health and Squadron Commander. Adam S. Hodge, Ph.D.Dr. Hodge currently works as an Active-Duty Air Force Psychologist at Wright-Patterson AFB. His primary duties include working in an embedded role as part of the Operational Support Team at Wright-Patterson AFB, and he also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the APA-accredited Clinical Psychology Internship at Wright-Patterson. Dr. Hodge is actively involved in research, including research on Group Unified Protocol, and is collaborating on efforts to disseminate Group Unified Protocol training across the Department of Defense. Resources:1. Unified Protocol Institute: unifiedprotocol.com 2. Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders: Therapist Guide (Treatments That Work), Barlow, D., Farchione, T., et al 3. More info about the DHA Targeted Team-Based Care pilot: https://health.mil/News/Dvids-Articles/2023/05/17/news444960
Clinicians new to EBPs and protocol-driven treatments understandably worry about what to do when something goes wrong. “What if I explain things wrong?” “What if my client gets worse?” Hiccups are the rule rather than the exception, especially when we’re new to a particular model or technique. Carin, Jenna, and Kevin have had their EBP fears come to fruition and are ready to “confess” their past struggles. Even more importantly, the team discusses how they recovered from their hiccups and what they learned from them. Note: We discuss potentially upsetting content, including suicide and violence toward children, in this episode. Please use discretion when listening. Calls-to-action: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email Share your EBP fears with us at www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
Welcome back for Season 4! Some big changes this season – we are sad to say goodbye to Dr. Andy Santanello who did a phenomenal job as co-host in seasons 1 - 3. Andy has pivoted to new opportunities and we wish him well! In his place, we are happy to introduce Dr. Carin Lefkowitz (long time guest, first time host) as our new Practical for your Practice co-host! Welcome, Carin! In our first episode of season 4, we tackle one of the top concerns we hear in our PTSD EBP workshops and consultation… “But what if my client dissociates?!”. If this has been on your list of clinical worries, worry no more! Take a listen as we discuss what is dissociation (and what isn’t)? What is its function? How can we best assess it? When is it likely to show up? AND most importantly, what providers can do to manage it in the context of their EBP work! Our very own Dr. Kelly Chrestman is back to share helpful actionable intel!
Calls-to-action:
Dissociative Subtype of PTSD-National center for PTSD
DES-II - Dissociative Experiences Scale
Target Behaviors & Behavior Chain Analysis - DBT Self Help
What is Dissociation and What to do About it?
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Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
From the time Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis recognized the importance of addressing unhelpful cognitions and cognitive processes in the treatment of depression in the 1960’s, cognitive behavioral therapy has become a driving force in the world of evidence-based practice. Initially, Drs. Beck and Ellis focused on the content of thoughts as the primary target for psychological interventions. Similarly, modern behavioral psychology has emphasized the importance of addressing cognition as a key aspect of successful psychotherapy. However, B.F. Skinner’s focus on verbal behavior as a generalized operant and modern contextual behavioral scientists’ work on Relational Frame Theory tend to emphasize the importance of addressing contextual factors that influence the function or impact of language over the content of thoughts. In this wide ranging episode, Drs. Jeff Mann, Andy Santanello, and Kevin Holloway discuss places of convergence between these two great traditions and look toward the future of process-based approaches to cognition. Make sure you grab some coffee and a snack: this is a LONG one!Jeffrey Mann, Psy.D., is a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Mann provides support Navy mental health training programs and is a Veteran of the United States Air Force (USAF) where he served as a psychologist from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, he deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.Dr. Mann received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from DePauw University and his master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, with a specialization in primary care psychology. He is a 2010 graduate of the Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center Psychology Residency Program.Dr. Mann’s clinical work has focused on the assessment and treatment of trauma-related mental health conditions, anxiety disorders, insomnia and the use of Telebehavioral Health.Calls-to-action: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Cultural competency training is an essential component of all behavioral health training curriculums and often a requirement for continuing education for licensed providers. But how often do those training opportunities include “military service” in the mix of cultural dimensions of identity that influence or shape an individual’s experience? Not often enough. In this episode we are joined by Dr. Shannon McCaslin as we explore the importance of keeping “eyes on” military culture to better understand how it can and should inform our EBP work. Come hear how military culture can influence your patients’ perspectives of their symptoms and treatment options level of, engagement, adherence, and treatment outcomes. Dr. Shannon McCaslin, is a Clinical Psychologist at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Dissemination & Training Division, VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Dakota in 2003 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Stress and Health at the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr. McCaslin’s work focuses on understanding factors impacting quality of life and functioning among those with PTSD and on the development and evaluation of educational and online products.Resources mentioned in this episode: * Community Provider Toolkit:https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/communityproviders * https://deploymentpsych.org/military-culture * https://deploymentpsych.org/Military-Culture-Enhancing-Competence-Course-Description * https://vha.train.org/vha/welcome
Calls-to-action: Check out the resources on CDP’s Military Culture page on their websiteSubscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Reactions to trauma vary from person to person. Although Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often a main topic of conversation regarding trauma, two other important posttraumatic trajectories, Moral Injury and Posttraumatic Growth, are gaining recognition. In this episode, Marine Corps Veteran, Social Worker, and Zen priest Dave Dahl share his unique perspective on trauma recovery, modeling the importance of shared perspective-taking in helping service members in their journey to recovery.David Dahl is a Marine veteran who serves as a clinical social worker and therapist for military veterans with trauma, mood disorders, and severe mental illnesses. Before social work, David worked with disadvantaged and adjudicated youth in outdoor settings and as a social-emotional learning and restorative discipline trainer in various counties and states. He also serves as a Zen Priest and teaches meditation in his community. Calls-to-action: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Like we’ve heard hundreds of times, “there’s an app for that!” Mobile apps are ubiquitous in modern life. With the proliferation of mental health apps available in app stores, it can be difficult to determine which apps have been rigorously tested and validated. Additionally, the mental health app market is largely unregulated, meaning that many apps may make claims about their effectiveness without sufficient evidence to support them. This can be problematic, as using an app without evidence-based support may not only be a waste of time and money but also potentially harmful if it leads to delayed treatment or incorrect self-diagnosis. How is a mental health practitioner to find evidence-based apps to use in therapy? And what are the challenges to NOT considering utilizing mobile apps in clinical work? Join us in a fascinating discussion with Dr. Greg Reger about the current mental health mobile app landscape and you can integrate mobile app use in your clinical practice.Dr. Greg Reger is the Deputy Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary and completed his psychology internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He served with the 98th Combat Stress Control Detachment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and deployed to Iraq for a year prior to working for the Department of Defense National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2). Dr. Reger’s research is focused on the design, development, and evaluation of innovative technologies to support Service Member and Veteran psychological health.Resources mentioned in this episode: * M-Health Index and Navigation Database Mobile Health Index and Navigation Database, App Evaluation Resources from the Division of Digital Psychiatry at BIDMC (mindapps.org) * One Mind PsyberGuide One Mind PsyberGuide | A Mental Health App Guide * VA Mental Health Applications VA App Store | VA Mobile * No personal knowledge of accuracy but I am told this is the current library of DoD apps (including MH apps) DHA PWAs (health.mil) * Psychiatry.org - The App Evaluation Model
Calls-to-action: For example: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
You can sense it coming, feel it before you see it and hear it. The small tremors in conversation that warn you the elephant is incoming. You brace, trying to keep the focus on your agenda, perhaps cling to the familiar safety of your EBP protocol. But the elephant is coming into your clinical space and now you have to decide what to do. In this episode of Practical for your Practice, we roll up our sleeves with Dr. Abigail Angkaw to address the topic of what clinicians can do when sociocultural and political issues stomp into their EBP. More specifically, what to do when we clinicians, as humans, have a strong reaction to those issues. THAT, is the elephant in the room. Tune in for some tips to tune up on areas like disclosure, self-reflection, microaggressions, finding empathy, context and case conceptualization, and what is best for your client and YOU when those elephants won’t leave your room. Abigail Angkaw is a Consultant with the PTSD Consultation Program through the National Center for PTSD, clinical psychologist, Section Chief at the VA San Diego, and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego. Her primary research interests include PTSD and co-occurring conditions as well as improving the delivery of mental health treatment. Coming from a military family, Dr. Angkaw is personally invested in helping providers through complex clinical and administrative challenges to provide high quality care for Veterans with PTSD. Dr. Angkaw received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati and completed her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the UCSD and VA San Diego.Resources mentioned in this episode: * CDP Presents: Treating PTSD When Clinicians Have Negative Reactions to Patients' Sociocultural Views * Cultural Formulation Interview * National Center for PTSD Consultation Program * Center for Deployment Psychology Consultation Program
Calls-to-action: For example: View recording of webinar:CDP Presents: Treating PTSD When Clinicians Have Negative Reactions to Patients' Sociocultural ViewsSubscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. Perhaps reading that phrase brings about word associations like “mushrooms” “LSD” “Molly” “Mescaline” “altered state”, “euphoria” and even “the 60’s”. Or perhaps just seeing those words makes you curious enough to take a listen to this awesome podcast with Dr. Brian Pilecki, a clinician and researcher in the emerging field of integrating psychedelics into the treatment of behavioral health disorders. Listen in and learn as Dr. Pilecki explains some of the ins and outs of psychedelic assisted therapy to include what it is, who might benefit, types of psychedelics that have been most studied, where the research stands, as well as how to get more information about being trained to provide this type of treatment. You won’t be sorry. Dr. Brian Pilecki is a clinical psychologist at the Portland Psychotherapy Clinic specializing in treating anxiety disorders, trauma, and PTSD, and matters related to the use of psychedelics. He completed his doctorate at Fordham University in Bronx, NY, and completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Weill-Cornell Medical center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and practices from an orientation based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Dr. Pilecki also received a master’s degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies in East-West Psychology where he studied psychedelic medicine, non-Western ways of knowing, and contemplative traditions such as Buddhism. He is an active researcher and has published on topics such as anxiety disorders, mindfulness, psychedelics, and the relationship between theory and practice in psychotherapy. At Portland Psychotherapy, Dr. Pilecki is involved in research on the positive benefits of psychedelics and provides clinical services in the preparation for or integration of psychedelic experiences.Resources mentioned in this episode: * Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies https://maps.org/
Calls-to-action: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Any guide to “small talk” will tell you that there are just some topics that you shouldn’t broach in most social situations. One of those topics is spirituality. But should spirituality be taboo in psychotherapy? Does the direct discussion of spirituality have a place inside evidence-based practice? In this episode, Andy, Kevin, and Jenna chat about some practical ways to answer these questions and offer ideas for “going there” when spirituality might be a useful domain to explore with your clients. Andrew Santanello, Psy.D s a licensed, clinical psychologist. Dr. Santanello worked in the Department of Veterans Affairs as a PTSD specialist for over a decade before moving to his current position as a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist, PTSD subject matter expert, and National Cognitive Processing Therapy trainer at the Center for Deployment Psychology.Although Dr. Santanello has extensive expertise with "second-wave" CBT interventions such as CBT-D, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Cognitive Processing Therapy, his passion for "third-wave" behavioral interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, is a common thread throughout his professional career. His professional interests include dissemination and practice of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy with an increasing focus on mechanisms of change and process-based psychotherapy, psychological resilience, and the intersection of behavioral science and mindfulness-based approaches to alleviating human suffering.In addition to his work with the CDP, Dr. Santanello is an active member in the Military Special Interest Group and Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) and maintains a small private practice in Baltimore, MD.Resources mentioned in this episode: * (Didn’t mention this specifically in the episode, but I think that it is worth including. This is one of Steven Hayes’ first every pubs) * Hayes, S. (1984). Making sense out of spirituality. Behaviorism, 12(2), 99-110.
Calls-to-action: For example: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Anger is something all humans experience. It can be uncomfortable for us as therapists when it shows up in therapy, whether it is the focus of intervention, or when expressed in session. Indeed, traditional clinical approaches have often focused on managing, preventing, or suppressing anger. But perhaps anger itself isn’t always the problem, but rather aggression or other values-inconsistent behavioral choices. Join us as we discuss being curious about anger and its function from an ACT-informed perspective with our guest, John Donahue, Psy.D.John Donahue, Psy.D., is an associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Baltimore, where he directs their post-master's certificate program in professional counseling studies. He received a doctorate in clinical psychology from La Salle University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the NW Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Portland VA Medical Center, where he specialized in posttraumatic stress disorder treatment and research. Dr. Donahue’s clinical and research interests relate to the cross-cutting role of psychological flexibility processes in the development and maintenance of psychological disorders, and more broadly, the development of empirically based dimensional models of psychopathology. Calls-to-action: For example: Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice PodcastSubscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Exposure-based interventions are some of the most powerful tools that therapists can offer to their clients, especially those who struggle with anxiety. However, there are different models of exposure with different proposed mechanisms and different desired outcomes. In this episode, anxiety disorders and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy expert Mike Twohig exposes us to some useful ways to help clients get better at being with their difficult stuff.
Michael P. Twohig, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in the state of Utah and a Professor of Psychology at Utah State University, where he co-runs the ACT Research Group (with Dr. Levin). He received his B.A. and M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, his Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno, and completed his clinical internship at the University of British Columbia Hospital. He is past-President of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science, the organization most associated with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). His research focuses on the use of ACT across a variety of clinical presentations with an emphasis on obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. He has published over 200 scholarly works, including five books, with the most recent being Innovations in ACT (with Levin and Krafft) and ACT in Steps (with Levin and Ong). His research has been funded through multiple sources, including the National Institute of Mental Health.
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Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
The Just World Belief (JWB), or the notion that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, is a fundamental and often problematic assumption for both clients and therapists. Believing that doing all the “right things” will lead to the outcome we want doesn’t match up to the realities of life in many cases and can lead to stress and perfectionism. In this episode, Kevin and Andy chat with Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist Carin Lefkowitz about the impact of the JWB on clients and therapists and some practical ways to make all the right moves to address it.
Carin M. Lefkowitz, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lefkowitz earned her M.A. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Widener University, with a concentration in cognitive-behavioral therapy.
When we think of “sleep problems,” most of the time, our brains go to insomnia – that group of people we work with who have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite adequate opportunity to sleep. But what about the opposite side of the sleep coin… or pillow, if you will? What about the group of folks who desperately want sleep, need sleep, crave sleep, AND could sleep if only given adequate opportunity to do so? In this episode, we sit down once again with one of CDP’s sleep experts, Dr. Diana Dolan, to talk about sleep deprivation and the associated functional impairments. Given sleep deprivation can be a common presenting problem for our military-connected clients, we encourage you to join us to learn some useful tips and strategies when working with sleep-deprived individuals both in survival mode during crisis situations as well as how to help prioritize sleep for those who have more flexibility. We all need sleep to survive so be sure to check out the actionable intel in this episode to maximize sleep for your clients on the sleep deprivation continuum. Spoiler alert: take that nap!
Diana C. Dolan, Ph.D., CBSM, DBSM, is a clinical psychologist serving as a Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist with the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this capacity, she develops and presents trainings on various EBPs and deployment-related topics and provides consultation services.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Sleeping in Crisis Situations: A Survival Guide
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy for couples that helps couples get better understanding and accepting their emotions, to be vulnerable in communicating those emotions to each other, and to get better at validating and supporting their partners. A challenge that therapists often face when working with military clients who are in committed relationships is deciding when to address relationship issues in individual therapy and when to refer your client to couples therapy. In this episode, certified EFT therapist Liz Polinksy share some actionable intel related to her work with military couples.
Elizabeth Polinsky, LCSW, RMFT, is a military marriage counselor in Norfolk Virginia. She comes from a military family and is now a military spouse—experiences that have led to her passion for helping military couples navigate the unique challenges of military life.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- https://deploymentpsych.org/EF-Therapy-Archive
- https://www.communicateandconnectpodcast.com/linkinbio.html
- https://iceeft.com/what-is-eft/
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Have you ever thought, “I want to implement EBP’s effectively with my clients, but I’m running into barriers!”. Well, help is here! Listen in as we sit down with Dr. Lisa Cuccurullo, whose job it is to help solve the problems people face every day in their clinical practice. We dig into some clinical barriers, what mechanisms need to be in place administratively to do these treatments with fidelity, and how to do these treatments in the real world with all of the chaos of day-to-day life. We all need that “clinical family” to support our work, so join us to find out about resources to expand yours! Come hear about common challenges, potential solutions, and Dr. Cuccurullo’s uplifting consultation story!
Lisa-Ann Cuccurullo, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist at the National Center for PTSD, where she works on a team that facilitates the use of empirically supported treatments for veterans in rural areas. Her clinical work has focused on cognitive behavioral treatments for PTSD (and other post-trauma-related symptoms), such as Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. She is a national Prolonged Exposure consultant in VA. Before joining the staff of the National Center for PTSD, she was the Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator and Assistant Director of Psychology Clinical Training at the Southeast Louisiana Veteran’s Health Care System and a clinical instructor at Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Cuccurullo’s current research interests focus on the implementation of empirically supported treatments and posttraumatic symptom presentation. Dr. Cuccurullo received her doctorate in clinical psychology from La Salle University and completed her clinical internship and a PTSD-focused fellowship at the Southeast Louisiana Veteran’s Health Care System.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- VA’s Consultation Service: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/consult/index.asp
- CDP’s Consultation Service: https://deploymentpsych.org/resources/consultation-services
- NCPTSD Patient Education tools: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/publications/print/index.asp
- Get EBP training from CDP: https://deploymentpsych.org/training
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Take one of CDP’s EBP’s (PE, CPT, CBT-SP, CBTi, ACT and more!): https://deploymentpsych.org/training
Why are pronouns important when working with your clients? Well, as this week’s guest, Dr. Jacob Eleazer, explains, misgendering clients is a form of medical harm, especially for members of the Trans community. As we all move toward greater awareness and competency when it comes to working with Trans clients, mistakes will be made. In this episode, Dr. Eleazar provides some practical advice for responding compassionately and directly to examples of misgendering. Also, in a P4P first, Dr. Eleazar and the crew demonstrate a few key techniques through candid role plays!
Dr. Jacob Eleazer (he/him) served in the Kentucky Army National Guard for 12 years and was among the first actively serving transgender soldiers to come out publicly in 2014. He completed his doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Louisville and a postdoctoral clinical fellowship in LGBTQ+ Health and Psychosocial Rehabilitation at the Connecticut VA Healthcare System (VACHS). He is currently an Advanced Fellow in Health Services Research and Development at VACHS and the Yale School of Medicine and serves as the LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator for VACHS. Jacob’s research investigates the experiences of actively serving transgender military personnel, health disparities for LGBTQ+ Veterans, and patient-centered interventions to improve access to care for transgender Veterans. Jacob also advocates for an inclusive military policy as the Director of Advocacy for SPARTA, A Transgender Military Advocacy Organization.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Ruben MA, Kauth MR, Meterko M, Norton AM, Matza AR, Shipherd JC. Veterans' Reported Comfort in Disclosing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Med Care. 2021 Jun 1;59(6):550-556. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001543. PMID: 33797509. [8:34]
- practicewithpronouns.com [32.23]
- CDP Presents: Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Service Members and Veterans [36:00]
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
As behavioral health providers, our jobs often are primarily helping patients heal when their worlds are in turmoil. But we don’t often talk about doing that work while our own world or even the whole world is in turmoil. What can we learn from efforts to support mental health providers working in the heart of real-time geopolitical aggression? Join us as we discuss the experience of CDP’s own Drs. Bill Brim and Andrea Israel partnering with UNM’s ECHO project providing just-in-time training in psychological first aid and provider resilience to providers in Ukraine.
William Brim, Psy.D., is the director of the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He joined CDP in 2007, initially as a deployment behavioral health psychologist at Malcolm Grow Medical Center and served as deputy director until 2017. Prior to joining CDP, Dr. Brim served on active duty as a psychologist in the United States Air Force from 1997 to 2007. The focus of Dr. Brim's clinical work, supervision and training is on deployment and redeployment- related mental health issues, specifically assessment and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and insomnia. Additionally, Dr. Brim focuses on health psychology clinical practice, the integration of mental health services in primary care and offers forensic psychology expert consultation and witness services.
Andrea Israel, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist serving as a Military Behavioral Health Child Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this role, she supports a study to assess the feasibility and to identify best practices for enhancing and expanding capabilities to deliver telehealth services to youth (dependents of active duty military) with neurodevelopmental and behavioral health needs across a dispersed geographic area. In addition, she provides Evidence-Based Psychotherapy (EBP) training. Dr. Israel graduated with her doctorate in School Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her postdoctoral work at Duke University Medical Center. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish, with a minor in Psychology, from the University of Virginia.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- https://deploymentpsych.org/resources-for-providers-in-wartime
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Two active duty psychologists sit down on a podcast and try to set the record straight about some of the ins and outs of becoming and serving as a military mental health provider. What does it take to serve simultaneously as a mental health provider AND an officer? What opportunities exist in areas such as leadership, prevention (individual and systemic), as a clinician, and training? How might YOU collaborate or consult with a military mental health provider? Listen as popular myths are busted, and unique opportunities are discussed!
Maj John A. Blue Star is an active duty US Air Force, board-certified clinical health psychologist. He is the Mental Health Flight Commander at Hanscom Air Force Base. His duties include conducting biopsychosocial evaluations for active duty and their families and retirees with health conditions, coordinating community-level population health program initiatives, providing behavioral treatment to individuals and groups with a focus on the quality of life improvement, and supervising clinical activities and conducting didactics for psychology interns. Maj Blue Star has a specialty focus in implementing interdisciplinary care for Active Duty service members with chronic pain and associated functional impairments, with emphasis on improving military readiness and decreasing risks involving opioid medication.
Lt. Col. David Tubman, an active duty US Air Force clinical health psychologist, is currently serving as the Clinical Psychology Internship Training Director at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He earned his Psy.D. at Wheaton College, Illinois, and completed both his internship and post-doctoral fellowship in clinical health psychology at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, TX. He is passionate about delivering evidence-based population health interventions, developing effective and engaging clinical training experiences, the science of behavior change, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- ACT for Military Special Interest Group https://contextualscience.org/act_for_military_sig [34:00]
- Society of Air Force Psychologists https://www.usafpsychologists.com/ [34:30]
- CDP’s Military Culture course: https://deploymentpsych.org/Military-Culture-Enhancing-Competence-Course-Description [35:40]
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Take CDP’s free Military Culture Course: https://deploymentpsych.org/Military-Culture-Enhancing-Competence-Course-Description
A common question posed in our PE and CPT consultation groups is, “What do I do if my client is pregnant and has PTSD… ?” To treat or not to treat? That is the question! In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Yael Nillni to discuss the benefits of trauma-focused treatment for women during the perinatal period. Come join us to learn about how clients who enter pregnancy with PTSD are at higher risk for adverse reproductive health outcomes and what behavioral health providers can (and should) do to help improve those outcomes. Is the perinatal phase a period of increased risk or a window of opportunity? We invite you to listen and learn.
Yael I. Nillni, Ph.D., is a Clinical Research Psychologist in the National Center for PTSD, Women’s Health Sciences Division at VA Boston Healthcare System, and an Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Nillni received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont. Dr. Nillni completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center/VA Medical Center Consortium in Jackson, MS, and her postdoctoral research fellowship in the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD. Dr. Nillni’s research focuses on the intersection of trauma, PTSD and comorbid mental health conditions, and women’s reproductive health with the ultimate goal of improving healthcare outcomes for women. To this end, she has several ongoing studies among both civilians and Veterans focused on trauma, PTSD, and women’s perinatal health.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Survivor Moms Companion: https://survivormoms.org/ [23:15]
- https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/86691/improving-reproductive-health-women-ptsd/
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Enroll in an EBP training for PTSD: https://deploymentpsych.org/psychological-training
In the context of a global pandemic where every one of us lives daily with uncertainty and barriers to connection with others, these challenges and burdens are magnified in the lives of our immunocompromised clients. From expanding our understanding of who is immunocompromised to empathy for their unique challenges to discussing practical strategies in clinical care, join us as we sit in the uncertainty together, discussing showing up, connecting with, and serving these clients.
Amanda Rhodes, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and researcher in the Health Psychology and Neurobehavioral Research Group (HPNRG) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) / National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Rhodes received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Lehigh University, a Master of Arts in psychology from Kean University, and a Doctorate in combined school and clinical psychology from Kean University. Her doctoral dissertation investigated acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and opioid use in patients with chronic pain. Dr. Rhodes completed a competitive, APA-accredited internship utilizing mindfulness-based interventions at the Brattleboro Retreat Psychiatric Hospital in Vermont, USA. She then completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in the Pediatric Oncology Branch at NCI/NIH.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- A contextual-behavioral perspective on chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic and future times of mandated physical distancing
- ACBS ACT for Health SIG & Resources for working with Chronic Health Conditions
If listeners are interested in learning more about this approach, a colleague and I are leading a 2-day (virtual) training in June called ACTivating Health: A Skills Building Workshop to Help People with Chronic Medical Conditions
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
What is resilience? What is Psychological Flexibility? What are the points of convergence between these two concepts? Practically speaking (and you know we LOVE practical stuff), it turns out that the Psychological Flexibility model may offer a unique pathway to the direct enhancement of resilience. In this episode, we chat with Dr. Wyatt Evans about his exciting insights and research about the role that psychological flexibility may play in resilience.
Wyatt R. Evans, Ph.D., ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist in the VA North Texas Health Care System and private practice in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. His areas of clinical and research interest include combat and operational stress, moral injury, trauma-focused treatment, and resilience enhancement. Dr. Evans currently supports DoD-, VA-and NIH-funded research into the prevention and treatment of PTSD, moral injury, and other stress reactions among military personnel. His primary area of expertise is in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and he has developed programs for utilizing ACT to treat a moral injury, enhance resilience, and facilitate posttraumatic growth. On moral injury, Dr. Evans has published on definitional distinctions, interventions, religious/spiritual considerations, and associated outcomes. Dr. Evans is a co-investigator on an initial acceptability/feasibility trial of ACT for moral injury and is the lead author of a recently published book titled The Moral Injury Workbook.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- CDP Presents: Engaging Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes to Enhance Resilience in Military Personnel with Wyatt Evans, Ph.D., and Andy Santanello, Psy.D. (https://deploymentpsych.org/CDPP-ACT-Archive) [03:20]
- Bonanno, G. (2021). The end of trauma: How the new science of resilience is changing how we think about PTSD. Basic Books.[23:16]
- Homepage of the ACT for Military Special Interest Group of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (https://contextualscience.org/act_for_military_sig)
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
In this episode, Andy, Kevin, and Jenna chat with Dr. Carin Lefkowitz about CDP’s Second Life training assets. Unique affordances of virtual worlds (including some funny mishaps) are discussed along with some practical tips for making the best use of Second Life to improve your practice.
Carin M. Lefkowitz, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lefkowitz earned her M.A. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Widener University, with a concentration in cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Second Life landing page in deploymentpsych.org, https://deploymentpsych.org/virtual-provider-training-in-second-life [timestamp]
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
In this episode, we talk about the ways brain injury, sustained in the context of trauma, can have longer-lasting effects than other mTBI’s, and why mental health providers are in an ideal position to help clients focus on cognitive health by teaching strategies to improve functioning. Join us as Dr. Beth Twamley demystifies how the strategies used in Compensatory Cognitive Training (CCT) and Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy (CogSMART) can help to address impairments in prospective memory, attention, learning and memory, and executive functioning. We hope you check out how this recovery-oriented approach can be incorporated into your practice to empower clients to make functional gains and improve their quality of life.
Dr. Twamley is a neuropsychologist and a Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego. Much of her work is based at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, where she is a VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Research Career Scientist and the Director of the Clinical Research Unit of the Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health. Dr. Twamley’s research has focused on cognitive training and other interventions to improve real-world functioning for individuals with psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and other cognitive impairments. She has developed and evaluated Compensatory Cognitive Training (CCT) and Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy (CogSMART) with funding from NIH, VA, DoD, NSF, BBRF/NARSAD, and UC San Diego grants. These treatment manuals and other clinical materials are available at no charge on her website, www.cogsmart.com.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- http://www.cogsmart.com/ [18:40]
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIZPMnYv3RDIYFI7CETy7sA [18:45]
- https://deploymentpsych.org/COGSmart-Archive [19:50]
Calls-to-action:
Review webinar recording on CogSMART https://deploymentpsych.org/COGSmart-Archive
Access manuals on the CogSMART website: http://www.cogsmart.com/
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Who isn’t stressed these days? Stress seems ubiquitous in ourselves, our clients, and everyone else! The good news? According to our guest this episode, Dr. Gabe Paoletti, stress doesn’t have to mean that things are going wrong. Stress is actually an indicator of the things that matter to us and what we care about. Listen with us as Dr. Paoletti stresses reorienting our approach from “feeling good” to “doing good.”
Gabe Paoletti, EdD, MAPP.
Dr. Paoletti is a Mental Fitness Scientist at the Uniformed Services University’s Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP). He is a subject matter expert in mental skills, positive and performance psychology, resilience, and leadership. Dr. Paoletti translates basic and clinical research to create culturally appropriate, evidence-based, impactful written and multimedia educational resources and presentations in the Human Performance Resources by CHAMP (HPRC) team.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Human Performance Resources by CHAMP website - https://www.hprc-online.org [14:30]
- Create a “Stress Helps Me” Mindset worksheet - https://www.hprc-online.org/mental-fitness/spiritual-fitness/create-stress-helps-me-mindset/ [14:40]
- Make Stress Good For You! - https://www.hprc-online.org/mental-fitness/sleep-stress/make-stress-good-you [26:30]
- Active Constructive Responding - https://www.hprc-online.org/mental-fitness/sleep-stress/active-constructive-responding-acr-worksheet
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
In this episode we are joined by one of CDP’s suicide prevention experts, Dr. Sharon Birman, to talk about means safety counseling and how to work collaboratively with a person in suicidal crisis to more effectively mitigate harm. Come join us as we talk about how this public health initiative has become a key one-on-one intervention. We’ll review common myths and barriers to the use of means safety counseling as well as resources to shore up providers’ skills in this area. Come get more comfortable with what can be an uncomfortable topic.
Sharon Birman, Psy.D., is a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist working with the Military Training Programs at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this capacity, she develops and presents training on a variety of EBPs and deployment-related topics, as well as providing consultation services.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) Training developed by SPRC: https://www.sprc.org/resources-programs/calm-counseling-access-lethal-means
-
Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BCBT) for Suicide Prevention resources:
- Manual: https://www.guilford.com/books/Brief-Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-for-Suicide-Prevention/Bryan-Rudd/9781462536665
- Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GSo1np_LUY&t=2s
- CBT for Suicide Prevention Manual: No longer being sold; needs to be updated.
- Means Matter Website by Harvard: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/
- Not Mentioned in Podcast - Mountain MIRECC website: https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn19/
Calls-to-action:
Know the legislation in your State (Means Matter website breaks down legislation from state to state)
Recognize that this is a collaborative effort - develop skills to have the conversation
Attend CDP’s Suicide Prevention training and check out additional resources listed
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
While disrupted sleep is one of the number one presenting concerns for military-connected clients, it remains under assessed and mis- or undertreated. In this episode, we pull the covers back to reveal the most common pitfalls for providers when it comes to addressing sleep disorders with CDP’s own sleep guru, Dr. Diana Dolan. There are a lot of ways sleep can go wrong and often sleep problems take on a life of their own and become a primary diagnosis. Come join us for a discussion on how to improve your assessment of sleep problems and hear actionable intel to strengthen your treatment approaches.
Bios for your guests
Dr. Diana Dolan is clinical psychologist serving as Assistant Director, Training and Education with the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Dolan’s professional interests include behavioral treatment of health conditions, in particular sleep disorders and within brief-natured primary care settings, clinical psychology training and program evaluation, and military psychology. She is Veteran of the USAF and certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. She is also a diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine from the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Chickens & Eggs: Treatment Order in Cases of Co-Morbid PTSD and Insomnia webinar [22:20] https://deploymentpsych.org/content/cdp-presents-chickens-eggs-treatment-order-cases-co-morbid-ptsd-and-insomnia-via-adobe-connect-Feb.21-2017
- 27:14 join CBT-I or Circadian Rhythms Training: https://deploymentpsych.org/training
- 27:40 The Basics of Sleep: What Ever Provider Needs to Know webinar: https://deploymentpsych.org/basics-of-sleep-archive
- CDP’s Virtual Sleep Museuam in Second Life 29:20 https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/staff-perspective-cdps-virtual-sleep-museum
Calls-to-action: For example:
Register for a CBT-I or Circadian Rhythms training at CDP
Review CDP Presents webinars on sleep and Sleep Spotlight page: https://deploymentpsych.org/cdp-sleep-spotlight
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
The future is now. Technology augmentation of the dissemination and implementation of EBPs has never been more widely accepted, from mobile apps to synchronous telehealth to asynchronous post-workshop support. Join us as we geek out with Dr. Peter Tuerk about the merits of technology adoption in EBPs, thinking creatively about using familiar technologies in new ways, provider-crowd-sourcing, and avoiding the trap of insisting that technology solutions must be replications of the old ways of doing things. Come for the tech talk, stay for the “skewmorphs.”
Guest Bio: Dr. Peter Tuerk is a research psychologist and clinician who specializes in evidence-based treatments for anxiety-spectrum disorders, related research and training, and the integration of technology into clinical care. Currently, he is Director of the Sheila C. Johnson Center for Clinical Services, a multidisciplinary training clinic at the University of Virginia, and he serves as Professor of Education within the Department of Human Services. His current research focuses on novel asynchronous telehealth technologies, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence in service of addressing EBT barriers.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- OC GO: oc-go.org [22:46]
- Brian Bunell case report: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1534650113483357 [26:41]
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Almost all clinicians agree that consultation helps us be better at our jobs. Committing to the consultation can be another story. In this episode, Dr. Andrew Sherrill of the Emory University Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program shares some actionable intel on facing and overcoming five common barriers to committing to consultation.
Andrew M. Sherrill, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a practicing clinical psychologist at the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program and the Emory Healthcare OCD Program. He is also the program manager of the Emory University Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program. He received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Northern Illinois University. He completed his predoctoral internship at the American Lake Division of VA Puget Sound Healthcare System and his postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Sherrill’s clinical expertise includes behavior therapies for trauma- and anxiety-related disorders including prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and acceptance and commitment therapy for a range of emotion disorders. His areas of specialization include the use of virtual reality in exposure therapies and the implementation of massed delivered evidence-based psychotherapy. His current research aims to understand the effective dissemination and implementation of exposure therapy and the development of mobile technologies that facilitate exposure therapy through pervasive health strategies in the areas of ubiquitous computing, human-computer interaction, and machine learning.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Emory University Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program: https://psychiatry.emory.edu/programs/pe_consultant_training/index.html
- Here’s a link to the first study published by the Emory training program, “Creating a national network of community-based consultants in prolonged exposure for PTSD: Outcomes and lessons learned from a consultant training program.”
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-54868-001
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a style of communication that can be useful in many different clinical situations. Maintaining the spirit of MI while practicing EBP presents a challenge. In this episode, Dr. Onna Brewer shares some actionable intel that will help you to listen with an ear for connection and change talk and to do what comes naturally (or maybe NOT so naturally) in practicing EBPs.
Dr. Onna Brewer is a clinical psychologist and consultant in private practice. Her research and community-based work have focused on processes of behavior change, behavioral health treatment approaches, and improving access to care for underserved communities. Her post-doctoral training and early career included trauma specialization and providing outpatient care with the Veterans Health Administration where she was also a Motivational Interviewing consultant and regional trainer for the VA’s National Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Initiative. She is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, theNational Register of Health Service Psychologists, the Florida Psychological Association and APA. Dr. Brewer is licensed to practice psychology in the states of Florida and Illinois, and she provides training and consultation for a diverse array of helping professionals and organizations around the world.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- CDP Presents: Motivational Interviewing and its Synergy with other Evidence-Based Practices
- CDP Motivational Interviewing Resources
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
When learning a protocol for evidence-based psychotherapy, the question commonly arises about common factors: “Why do I need to learn this protocol if most of the change in psychotherapy can be traced back to common factors?” or conversely “If I follow the steps on this protocol checklist, I don’t have to worry about common factors at all like therapeutic alliance, right?” Join us as we discuss the interplay of common factors and EBP protocols, how they are not mutually exclusive, and how to make sure you are attending most to the real person and the real relationship with you in the room while applying EBP techniques.
Dr. Michael Jones has 18 years of experience working with the military as a psychologist. During this time, he has deployed overseas twice, he has held a variety of roles as a clinician, as a consultant, educator/supervisor and researcher. Dr. Jones has spent the majority of his career working with the Army and Air Force, but has spent time with the other military branches and multiple federal agencies. During his time as a medical residency faculty member, he supervised multiple years of incoming army psychologists, social workers and medical residents on clinical skills and mental health treatment. During the height of combat operations during the late 2000’s, he developed and managed multiple population-focused mental health resiliency programs, including peer suicide prevention training and peer resiliency training. Much of his later career has been embedded in military units, where he developed a passion for making mental resiliency skills accessible to service members.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
-
10:28 - Common Factors Research, The Dodo Bird Verdict
- Rosenzweig, Saul (1936). "Some implicit common factors in diverse methods of psychotherapy". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 6 (3): 412–15. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1936.tb05248.x
- 28:29 - Duncan, B.L., Miller, S.D., Wampold, B.E.,and Hubble, M.A. (Eds.) (2009). The Heart and Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy. Washington: American Psychological Association Press.
- 28:34 - Lambert, M.J. (Ed.) (2013). Bergin and Garfield’s Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change, Sixth Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ.
-
29:07 - Outcome Rating Scale, by Scott Miller and Barry Duncan
-
Miller, S.D., Duncan, B.L., Brown, J., Sparks, J.A., and Claud, D.A. (2003). The Outcome Rating Scale: A Preliminary Study of the Reliability, Validity, and Feasibility of a Brief Visual Analog Measure. Journal of Brief Therapy. 2(2): 91-100.
- 32:35 - Outcome Questionnaire: OQ-45.2 -- https://www.oqmeasures.com/oq-45-2/
Calls-to-action:
- Use outcome measures in therapy, including measures of therapeutic alliance and symptom improvement.
- Consider your client’s readiness for change and work collaboratively at their current level of readiness.
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Anger is the most highly reported challenge, across disorders, for Servicemembers and Veterans, especially post-deployment. In this episode, we get fired up talking about anger, aggression, and the role of other secondary emotions such as guilt, shame, and fear. Our guest, Dr. Shannon Miles, helps us distinguish between impulsive and premeditated aggression and walks us through the main components of her protocol Managing Emotions to Reduce Aggression. Need to get more comfortable with anger and help clients with aggression? Take a listen. You won’t regret it.
Dr. Miles is a clinical psychologist at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Her research and clinical work explore ways to assist Veterans and Service Members recovering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and challenging comorbidities such as emotion dysregulation, aggression, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). She is the principal investigator (PI) on a multi-site VA Clinical Science Research and Development study that is examining a 3 session aggression treatment and a VA Health Service Research and Development grant that seeks to determine if the VA’s mild TBI screen leads to more appropriate service utilization and better quality of life for post 9-11 Veterans. She is also a Site Multiple-PI on the Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC).
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Impulsive-Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS) https://cdn.ce21.com/documents/fixiit1yjkickq1mlknesq.pdf [17:57]
- PTSD Coach App https://mobile.va.gov/app/ptsd-coach [21:45]
- MERA manual https://cdn.ce21.com/documents/z5osm1an6uicltedhq3adw.pdf [24:45]
Calls-to-action:
View Understanding and Managing Anger and Aggression in PTSD: https://deploymentpsych.org/Anger-And-Aggression-Archive
Download and utilize the MERA manuals
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Microaggressions are subtle, covert forms of discrimination that impact marginalized populations. In this episode, Dr. Ryan Warner shares his insights on the importance of recognizing and responding genuinely to microaggressions in a clinical context as well as some of his own experiences of microaggressions.
Ryan C. Warner Ph.D., CRC is a licensed psychologist, researcher, speaker, and consultant. Dr. Warner has conducted talks and trainings at both national and international levels. Additionally, Dr. Warner has held leadership positions across the nation, has been published in various peer-review journals, and has served as a graduate-level instructor.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- https://www.rcwarnerconsulting.com/
- 8:34: Reference to “Unmasking Microaggressions in Clinical Practice” https://deploymentpsych.org/Microaggressions-Archive
- 22:00 LET UP Model https://cdn.ce21.com/documents/pkfz2numoeewujk0h_zdgg.pdf
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Provider self-care is an important and ethical responsibility for all providers. Our training as behavioral health providers does not render us immune from stress and even symptoms of mood or anxiety difficulties. Many of us found that some of the self-care behaviors we relied on prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were suddenly unavailable. What can be done? Consider creatively applying the advice we give to our clients to ourselves. Listen as Andy discusses with Dr Carin Lefkowitz practical adjustments we can make to our self-care routines in the current environment.
Carin M. Lefkowitz, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lefkowitz earned her M.A. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Widener University, with a concentration in cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- 13:50 : Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D. “Don’t Feel Motivated? Play the Impossible Game”: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-out-your-mind/201903/don-t-feel-motivated-play-the-impossible-game
- 18:40 : Guided meditation by Kristin Neff -- Self-compassion exercise for therapists : https://self-compassion.org/guided-self-compassion-meditations-mp3-2/
- 28:55 : Self-care for Practitioners free e-booklet by New Harbinger : https://www.newharbinger.com/blog/professional/a-guide-to-self-care-for-practitioners-a-free-e-booklet/
Calls-to-action:
Choose one or two self-care behaviors you can prioritize for self-care
Try the Impossible Game to enhance your motivation
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Robyn Walser for a rich discussion on how clinicians can get better at conceptualizing cases on the fly. We talk about moving from technical to functional, from fidelity to competence, the importance of contextual factors, and most importantly, balancing the need to be present with our clients with our hearts as well as our heads. Come hear Dr. Walser’s actionable intel about improving case conceptualization through understanding the purpose of behavior (the clients and ours), the client’s desired trajectory and the importance of understanding the psychological inflexibility processes that keep clients stuck.
Robyn D. Walser, PhD, is a psychologist and Staff, National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division, at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.
Dr. Walser is currently developing innovative ways to translate science-into-practice and is responsible for the dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge and treatment interventions in her position at the VA. She is an expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has been doing ACT trainings both nationally and internationally since 1998. Dr. Walser is also involved in several research projects investigating use of mindfulness and ACT in Veteran populations.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- (33:25) contextualscience.org (ABCS) “case conceptualization” https://contextualscience.org/search/node/case%20conceptualization
- The Heart of Act: https://contextualscience.org/publications/the_heart_of_act_developing_a_flexible_processbased_and_clientcentered_prac
Calls-to-action: For example:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Register for an upcoming ACT Workshop: https://deploymentpsych.org/training
Physical pain can be tough to address when it is a focus of psychotherapy, and it can be even tougher when it “shows up” unexpectedly like an unwanted guest. In this podcast, our colleague Dr. Sharon Birman shares some practical, evidence-based tips for responding to comorbid physical pain during the course of therapy for other presenting issues. Dr. Birman’s take-home message… don’t be afraid to engage with chronic pain!
Sharon Birman, Psy.D., is a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist working with the Military Training Programs at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this capacity, she develops and presents training on a variety of EBPs and deployment-related topics, as well as providing consultation services. She has traveled widely across the United States and OCONUS providing continuing education to civilian and military behavioral health providers teaching a variety of courses including Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain, Assessment and Management of Opioids in Military-Connected Populations, Assessment of PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Military Sexual Assault and Military Family Resilience.
She joined the CDP in 2014 after completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where she was actively involved in CBT and DBT intervention, supervision, and education. She completed her predoctoral internship at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center, focusing her training on suicide prevention and evidence-based interventions for the treatment of individuals with severe, chronic mental illness. Dr. Birman received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and her master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- https://www.va.gov/painmanagement/docs/cbt-cp_therapist_manual.pdf [20:22]
- https://www.va.gov/painmanagement/ [20:30]
- https://www.abct.org/Information/?m=mInformation&fa=fs_CHRONIC_PAIN [21:03]
Calls-to-action:
- Attend an upcoming CDP training on Understanding and Treating Chronic Pain https://deploymentpsych.org/training
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
The recent events in Afghanistan have left many military-connected clients (and providers!) reeling, creating a sense of anxiety in clinics about how to best provide support. In this episode we bring lead EBP consultants from VA and DoD together to talk about the importance of examining our own reactions, making room for our client’s grief, anger and other emotions and how to be fully present in the room as our clients struggle to (re)create balance and meaning. We explore how validation serves as the essential substrate across EBP’s, as well as ways providers can support clients to examine values and move with intention through these historical events. Don’t miss this special episode as your colleagues discuss “doom scrolling,” the “EBP police” and much more!
Sonya Norman, Ph.D. is Director of the PTSD Consultation Program through the Executive Branch of the National Center for PTSD, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and in the Psychotherapy Unit of the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health. She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology at Stanford University and completed trauma-focused postdoctoral research fellowships at UCSD. Dr. Norman previously directed the San Diego VA's OEF/OIF/OND PTSD clinic and has served as a consultant on the VA's prolonged exposure therapy roll-out. Dr. Norman's primary areas of research are in psychotherapies that treat co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders and in treating PTSD in recently deployed Veterans. Dr. Norman has over 50 publications related to trauma and PTSD.
Kelly Chrestman, Ph.D., is a Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology. She provides training, support, and consultation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and in the Assessment and Treatment of PTSD. She works with the team at CDP to find new and better ways to link clinicians with both traditional and innovative resources that will help them implement EBPs more effectively. This includes leveraging computer technology and virtual assets to reach professionals that might otherwise have difficulty accessing high-quality training and consultation.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- 32:20 Apps mentioned Covid coach, mindfulness coach, ptsd coach: https://mobile.va.gov/appstore/mental-health
-
32:45 VA NCPTSD website
- For Veterans: https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/category/afghanistan-series/
- For Providers: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/specific/pro_guide_veterans_reactions.asp
- 33:20 Vet Center Groups and other resources - https://www.va.gov/VE/pressreleases/2021081801.asp
Calls-to-action:
- Check out the links to the resources mentioned in this episode to include mobile apps, blogs for veterans and providers, and ways to find Veteran social support groups to supplement your support (see resources above)
- Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
- Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email
Masks, social distancing and hand sanitizer oh my! This week we are joined by Dr. Kelly Chrestman, one of CDP’s Prolonged Exposure mavens, to talk about practical tips for doing in vivo work during the pandemic. We dig into how assigning in vivo items may or may not have changed in the midst of the pandemic and creative ways to maintain momentum. Not doing PE? There is still actionable intel for you on how to collaborate with clients to get them engaged in meaningful activities despite all the barriers of COVID. This is the time to flex new muscles and think outside the box with us as we talk about doing PE (via telehealth) during the pandemic.
Bios for your guests
Kelly Chrestman, Ph.D., is a Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology. She provides training, support, and consultation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and in the Assessment and Treatment of PTSD.
She works with the team at CDP to find new and better ways to link clinicians with both traditional and innovative resources that will help them implement EBPs more effectively. This includes leveraging computer technology and virtual assets to reach professionals that might otherwise have difficulty accessing high-quality training and consultation.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- https://deploymentpsych.org/system/files/member_resource/In_Vivo_Exposure_While_Sheltering_Final_0.pdf [13:22 ]
- https://deploymentpsych.org/system/files/member_resource/Patient_telehealth_checklist_0.pdf and https://deploymentpsych.org/system/files/member_resource/Moving_PE_to_Telehealth_FINAL_0.pdf [21:56 starts to talk about the forms or 23:08 is where she literally says to add the link]
- [https://deploymentpsych.org/resources/consultation-services [26:09]
Calls-to-action:
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Check out CDP’s COVID-19 Behavioral Health Resources page: https://deploymentpsych.org/covid19-bhresources#NEWBHSD
All of us have been to multiple day workshops to learn new clinical skills. Although we might leave with some enthusiasm, new skills, and new information, that doesn’t always mean that we are proficient in applying new learning. In this podcast, Drs. Holloway and Santanello chat about some of the strategies that they have used as EBP practitioners to improve their skills.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- 7:30 Chow, D. L., Miller, S. D., Seidel, J. A., Kane, R. T., Thornton, J. A., & Andrews, W. P. (2015). The role of deliberate practice in development of highly effective psychotherapists. Psychotherapy, 52(3), 337-345.
- 15:42 (16:58) The first 20 hours - How to Learn Anything, Josh Kaufman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY
Calls-to-action: For example:
- Seek out opportunities for consultation (e.g. colleagues, practice groups, consultation calls)
- Carve out protected time in your weekly schedule to focus intentionally to practice/develop skills
- Be honest with yourself about what you’re good at and what you need to improve using criteria other than your own confidence in your skills (e.g. self-rating competence forms, fidelity forms)
- Contact info for Andy and Kevin: andrew.santanello.ctr@usuhs.edu / kevin.holloway.ctr@usuhs.edu
Three clinical psychologists and trainers from the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University (USU) come together to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of actually implementing Evidence-Based Psychotherapies (EBPs). Practical for your Practice is a bi-weekly podcast featuring stories, ideas, support, and actionable intel to empower providers to keep working toward implementing EBPs with fidelity and effectiveness. In this first episode your hosts Drs. Jenna Ermold, Kevin Holloway, and Andy Santenello share the who, what, where, and why behind this podcast and more importantly how these conversations between colleagues can enhance the work you do.
This podcast is produced by the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The views expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Uniformed Services University, the Department of Defense, or the US Government. In addition, reference to any specific company, products, processes, or services does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement by the Uniformed Services University, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.
Bios:
Jenna Ermold, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and working as Assistant Director, Training and Education at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). She is a trainer and subject matter expert in PTSD, Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD, military culture, and the innovative application of technology for augmenting training and dissemination. Dr. Ermold received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont, completed her doctoral internship at Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews AFB, and is a Veteran of the United States Air Force.
Andy Santanello, Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist by training and is currently a senior military behavioral health psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Santanello is a PTSD, Mindfulness, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy subject matter expert at CDP. In addition to training other clinicians in evidence-based psychotherapeutic protocols and processes, he is passionate about developing new and innovative ways to use technology in training and providing mental health services.
Kevin M. Holloway, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist working as Director, Training, and Education at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) and Assistant Professor of Medical and Clinical Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a trainer and subject matter expert in PTSD, Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, and the innovative application of technology for augmenting training and dissemination. Dr. Holloway received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Brigham Young University in 2004 and completed his doctoral internship at the Portland, Oregon Veterans Administration hospital.