Training and Workshops
Training and Workshops
The National Center for PTSD offers training programs and workshops that have been adapted to suit the needs of professionals and special provider populations involved with caring for Veterans and others who have experienced trauma.
Chaplaincy Initiative
An ongoing collaboration between the National Center for PTSD's Dissemination and Training Division, VA's Chaplain Center, and VISN 6 MIRECC began the roll-out of a series of VISN-level training conferences for chaplains.
Content addresses the needs of returning OEF/OIF/OND Veterans, information about PTSD and other problems affecting Veterans and Service members, relevant clinical themes arising from the intersection of trauma and spirituality, and discussion of ways to effectively collaborate with mental health care efforts. The groups also work with VA's Office of Rural Health to implement regional conferences for community clergy.
The Dissemination and Training Division continues its police training initiative, including training of VA and community police officers via VA's Justice Outreach Programs. Work continues on the Police Toolkit, designed to assist police officers in their interactions with Veterans diagnosed with PTSD who have encounters with the law. The goal is provide police with information and training to assist in communication, problem solving, and guidance.
Primary Care Providers
Educational outreach was coordinated with the Primary Care-Mental Health Integration Office and the Center for Integrated Health Care for providers interested in using web-based resources and mobile applications in primary care settings.
The Veterans Health Initiative on PTSD in Primary Care is available, and includes PTSD screening and treatment materials updated to be consistent with the 2010 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for PTSD.
A Primary Care Toolkit is also in development, and is designed to assist VA providers in screening and assessment, making a referral, discussing evidence-based treatment options, and facilitating therapist-assisted self-management skills.
Police Officers
The Dissemination and Training Division continues its police training initiative, including training of VA and community police officers via VA's Justice Outreach Programs. Work continues on the Police Toolkit, designed to assist police officers in their interactions with Veterans diagnosed with PTSD who have encounters with the law. The goal is provide police with information and training to assist in communication, problem solving, and guidance.
VA Military Sexual Trauma Treatment Providers
The Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Support Team is an MHS-funded initiative designed to support national monitoring of MST screening and treatment, to expand MST-related education and training, and to promote best practices in the field.
National Center for PTSD staff members serve as the team's co-Directors. In addition to serving as a point of contact for questions from the field, the MST Support Team hosts monthly educational calls open to all VA staff, an annual multi-day training for MST Coordinators, and annual events in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.
Another major educational initiative has been the establishment of the MST Resource Homepage, an Intranet web page that serves as a clearinghouse for a variety of MST-related resources including patient outreach materials, provider training opportunities, discussion forums, and descriptions of VA policies and benefits related to MST. Our Women's Health Division also collaborated to develop the Military Sexual Trauma Veterans Health Initiative study guide to raise awareness among clinicians of the breadth of issues facing persons who have been sexually assaulted or raped.
Warrior Scholars Program
Our Clinical Neurosciences Division provided psychoeducational outreach to Veterans and colleagues through the Warrior Scholars Program, a two week academic boot camp held on the Yale University campus for Veterans preparing for college.
Ukraine Education and Training Initiative
The Ukraine Education and Training Initiative involved collaboration between our Clinical Neurosciences Division and the Open World Leadership Center, an international exchange agency within the Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government, The Initiative included a week-long training seminar in assessment, psychological first aid, skills for psychological recovery and psychopharmacology to a delegation of psychologists, psychiatrists, and priests from Ukraine.
