PTSD: National Center for PTSD

VA/DoD 2023 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of PTSD

The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense (VA/DoD) Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) was updated in 2023 to provide recommendations based upon the best information available at the time of publication. Recommendations in the CPG are designed to assist clinical decision making; they do not establish a standard of care or present an exclusive course of case management. A panel of multidisciplinary experts performed a systematic review of clinical and epidemiological evidence for the management of PTSD. This guideline provides an explanation of the logical relationships among various care options and health outcomes while rating both the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations. The information can be used to guide clinical care decisions and to identify areas of future research needed in the field.

The major recommendations in the CPG cover:

• Diagnosis and assessment of PTSD
• Prevention of PTSD
• Treatment of PTSD
• Treatment of PTSD with co-occurring conditions

Additional CPG Resources

Provider handouts and slide deck

• Partnering With Veterans to Choose Effective PTSD Treatments (PDF)
• Optimizing PTSD Treatment: A Guide for Mental Health Prescribing Clinicians (PDF)
• 2023 VA/DoD Evidence Tables for Medication Monotherapy, Augmentation and Combination Therapy Recommendations (PDF)
• 2023 VA/DoD CPG Key Recommendations for PTSD Slide Deck (PPT) : Slides may be used for presentations about the development of the CPG (methodology and systematic approach) and the recommendations for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. Please cite NCPTSD as the author upon use.

Continuing Education courses

Learn about the CPG recommendations in our PTSD Consult Lecture Series or Continuing Education courses. Online courses offer continuing education credit, recorded webinars do not include accreditation:

• Online Course: Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD 2023: Psychotherapy Recommendations
• Online Course: Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD 2023: Medication & Other Biological Treatments
• Online Course: Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD 2023: Complimentary, Integrative and Alternative Approaches

Relevant article and e-publication

Lang, A. J., Hamblen, J. L., Holtzheimer, P., Kelly, U., Norman, S. B., Riggs, D., Schnurr, P. P., & Wiechers, I. (2024). A clinician's guide to the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. Journal of Trauma Stress, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23013 PTSDpubs ID: 1629192 [PDF]

Schnurr, P. P., Hamblen, J. L., Wolf, J., Coller, R., Collie, C., Fuller, M. A., Holtzheimer, P. E., Kelly, U., Lang, A. J., McGraw, K., Morganstein, J. C., Norman, S. B., Papke, K., Petrakis, I., Riggs, D., Sall, J. A. Shiner, B., Wiechers, I., & Kelber, M. S. (2024). The management of posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder: Synopsis of the 2023 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline. Annals of Internal Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.7326/M23-2757. PTSDpubs ID: 1631252 [PDF]

Hamblen, J. L., & Schnurr, P. P. (2024). Clinical Practice Guidelines for PTSD. PTSD Research Quarterly, 35(1). Available at https://ptsd.va.gov/publications/rq_docs/V35N1.pdf [PDF]

PTSD Consultation Program

Any provider who treats Veterans with PTSD can ask a question or request consultation about PTSD-related issues. The PTSD Consultation Program is free.

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