2-Day Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trauma Treatment with One of Today's Most Effective Evidence-Based Therapies

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Faculty

Jennifer Sweeton, PsyD, MS, MA Related seminars and products

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Dr. Jennifer Sweeton is a licensed clinical psychologist, author, and internationally-recognized expert on trauma, anxiety, and the neuroscience of mental health. Dr. Sweeton has been practicing EMDR for nearly a decade and has treated a variety of populations using EMDR and other memory reconsolidation approaches, including combat veterans, individuals with PTSD and complex trauma, and those suffering from treatment-resistant anxiety. She completed her doctoral training at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, and the National Center for PTSD. Additionally, she holds a master’s degrees in affective neuroscience from Stanford University, and studied behavioral genetics at Harvard University.

Dr. Sweeton resides in the greater Kansas City area, where she owns a group private practice, Kansas City Mental Health Associates. She is a past president of the Oklahoma Psychological Association and holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She is the president of the Greater Kansas City Psychological Association. Dr. Sweeton offers psychological services to clients in Oklahoma, Kansas, and internationally, and is a sought-after trauma and neuroscience expert who has trained thousands of mental health professionals in her workshops.

 

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Jennifer Sweeton is in private practice. She has an employment relationship with the Oklahoma City VAMC. Dr. Sweeton receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.  She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Jennifer Sweeton has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.
 

Objectives

1. Determine how the symptoms of PTSD impact client functioning and influence clinician choice of intervention.
2. Investigate how Emotional Processing Theory and the process of habituation is connected to the clinical effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure Therapy.
3. Assess how psychoeducation about common reactions to PE therapy can be used by clinicians to establish client expectations for treatment and reduce the incidence of dropout.
4. Determine how motivational interviewing techniques can be used in session to reduce negative feelings about exposure treatment.
5. Determine how breathing retraining can be taught during the first session of the PE protocol to help clients manage immediate distress.
6. Evaluate how clinicians can work with clients to determine the index trauma with clients who have experienced multiple traumas, so they can work with the one most likely to be causing the majority of symptoms.
7. Utilize imaginal exposure to reduce the intensity and frequency of PTSD symptoms in clients.
8. Utilize in vivo exposure to help clients approach and increase participation in situations that are safe, but they have been avoiding as a result of related trauma.
9. Evaluate how clinicians can work on “hot spots” rather than having the patient retell his entire narrative to more efficiently reduce the intensity of associated symptoms.
10. Employ homework assignments that complement in-session exposures by enhancing key change processes.
11. Assess risks and contraindications to the use of Prolonged Exposure Therapy to determine which clients should not be treated with PE.
12. Revise exposure techniques and duration depending on the client’s needs and the rate of progress.

Outline

Prolonged Exposure and the Emotional Processing Theory

• Emotional Processing Theory
• Who PE was designed for
• Research supporting PE as an evidence-based therapy for PTSD
• Comparison to other treatments for PTSD
• Risks and contraindications

Diagnosing PTSD and other Trauma (or Stressor) Related Disorders

• DSM-5™ criteria
• Cultural considerations

Brain Science of Trauma and Exposure Therapy

• Amygdala
• Hippocampus
• Insula
• Cortical areas

Assessment/Screening Tools

• Primary Care PTSD Screen
• PCL-5
• IES-R
• CAPS-5

Trauma Treatment Roadmap

• Bottom-up vs top-down approaches
• Stabilization and grounding
• Where PE fits into the roadmap

Preparing Your Clients for PE

• Assessing for readiness
• Motivational interviewing techniques
• Psychoeducation about trauma processing and PE
• Therapeutic alliance

The PE Protocol: Essential Components and Step-by-Step Training
Session 1

• Trauma interview
• Identifying the index trauma
• Breathing retraining technique

Session 2

• Common reactions to trauma
• Psychoeducation about in vivo exposure
• In vivo exposure fear hierarchy
• Homework assignments related to in vivo exposure

Sessions 3 and Beyond

• Imaginal exposure to the traumatic event: step by step
• SUDS, symptom monitoring, and stabilization
• Managing hot spots
• Processing of the exposure
• In vivo exposure progress

Final Session

• Final assessment
• Progress review
• Relapse prevention
• Determining next steps in therapy

How to Deal with Avoidance and Anxiety

• Over engagement/under engagement
• Panic/anxiety
• Anger
• Avoidance
• Homework compliance

PE Modifications

• Extending session length and/or increasing/decreasing frequency
• TBI
• Moral injury
• Other modifications

Integrating PE with Other Treatment Modalities

• EMDR
• Cognitive Processing Therapy
• Other cognitive-behavioural approaches

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Psychiatrists
• Addiction Counselors
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals