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Evaluation ViewAttendees 3

Transdiagnostic
Symposia

Symposium 79 - Expanding existing trauma-focused massed treatment programs: Implementation and adaptation of the Unified Protocol as an alternative treatment modality

Saturday, November 16, 2024
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST
Location: Congress B, Fourth Floor, Loews Hotel
CE: 1

Keywords: Unified Treatment, Transdiagnostic, Veterans
Level of Familiarity: Moderate
Recommended Readings: Cassiello-Robbins, C., Southward, M. W., Tirpak, J. W., & Sauer-Zavala, S. (2020). A systematic review of Unified Protocol applications with adult populations: Facilitating widespread dissemination via adaptability. Clinical Psychology Review, 78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101852,   Sherrill, A. M., Mehta, M., Patton, S. C., Sprang Jones, K., Hellman, N., Chrysosferidis, J., Yasinski, C. W., Rothbaum, B. O., & Rauch, S. A. M. (2024). Effectiveness of the massed delivery of unified protocol for emotional disorders within an intensive outpatient program for military service members and veterans. Psychological Services. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000833,   Held, P., Klassen, B. J., Boley, R. A., Wiltsey Stirman, S., Smith, D. L., Brennan, M. B., Van Horn, R., Pollack, M. H., Karnik, N. S., & Zalta, A. K. (2020). Feasibility of a 3-week intensive treatment program for service members and veterans with PTSD. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(4), 422–430. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000485,   ,  

Massed treatments utilizing evidenced-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have emerged as a feasible and effective way to treat PTSD in veteran and active duty military populations (Held et al., 2020; Yamokoski et al., 2023). Massed treatments engage participants in treatment between 3 and 10 times per week. Beyond successful post treatment outcomes, patients who engage in massed treatment drop out less. Research shows more than 90%+ of patients complete massed treatment intensive treatment programs, compared to 60% in typical outpatient treatment delivered once-weekly (Kehle-Forbes et al., 2016; Rauch et al., 2020). Moreover, patients have opportunities to improve much faster (e.g., 2-3 weeks vs. 3 months) and tend to maintain these results months after treatment (Held et al., 2020). However, traumatic experiences have been shown to lead to a variety of mental health outcomes and emotional disorders (e.g., Trivedi et al., 2015), such as anxiety and depression, and limiting programs to the treatment of PTSD may exclude patients who would benefit from massed treatment. Patients with trauma histories often present with multiple diagnostic concerns, which is one benefit of utilizing a transdiagnostic approach.

To date, massed treatment delivery has been largely limited to the treatment of PTSD using first line PTSD treatments (i.e., prolonged exposure and cognitive processing therapy). Massed treatment for other concerns, such as anxiety and mood disorders, if is far less understood. This talk reviews the adaption and implementation of the Unified Protocol (UP; Barlow et al., 2011) into three existing intensive treatment programs as an alternative evidence-based psychotherapy offering within historically trauma-focused programs. The Unified Protocol (UP) offers a transdiagnostic approach that fits well into existing programs and allow for patients with a variety of presenting concerns to access evidence-based massed treatment. To date, research examining the effectiveness of massed transdiagnostic treatments, such as the UP, is limited (Sherrill et al. 2024). The present talk will review outcome data from three distinct intensive treatment programs focused on veteran and active duty military populations that have adapted and implemented the UP in a massed format in three different ways. The data to be presented supports the use of a massed delivery model of the UP.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Describe the benefits and advantages of massed treatment approaches.
  2. Explain the purpose of transdiagnostic treatments, such as the Unified Protocol
  3. Describe evidence in support of utilizing the Unified Protocol in a massed treatment format.
  4. Discuss at least two ways in which adaptations to the Unified Protocol can be made to fit into existing treatment programs.
  5. Describe challenges and barriers to implementing the Unified Protocol in a massed format.

Presentations:

  • 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST
    (SYM 79) Implementing the Unified Protocol in an Intensive Treatment Program Designed to Treat PTSD: Preliminary Outcomes

    Speaker: Joel D. Wyatt, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Rush University Medical Center

    Co-author: Ashby Boland, B.S. (she/her/hers) – Rush University Medical Center

    Co-author: Sarah Pridgen, M.A. – Rush University Medical Center

    Co-author: Brian Klassen, PhD – Rush University Medical Center

    Co-author: Philip Held, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Rush University Medical Center

  • 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST
    (SYM 79) Navigating the Evolving Needs of Veterans and Servicemembers: A Case for Transdiagnostic Treatment

    Speaker: Mansi Mehta, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Emory University School of Medicine

    Co-author: Andrew M. Sherrill, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Emory University

    Co-author: Sheila Rauch, ABPP, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Emory University SOM/Atlanta VAMC

  • 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST
    (SYM 79) UP for ICP: Initial Outcomes of an 8 Session Adaptation of the UP for Massed Delivery in an Intensive Outpatient Setting for Veterans and Active-duty Service Members

    Speaker: Stephanie P. Samph, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – MGH/Harvard Medical School

    Co-author: Soyeong Kim, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital

    Co-author: Charlotte Magee, B.A. – Massachusetts General Hospital