First-line PTSD treatments are effective but most people with PTSD will never access one of these interventions or complete an episode of care. Most of these first line treatments are provided in specialty mental health alone and require 8 to 15 sessions for an adequate dose. Providing an effective, brief version of Prolonged Exposure (PE), a first line PTSD intervention, in primary care reduces barriers to care and increases access. Processing Emotions in Primary Care (PEPC) is a brief version of PE that includes four to eight, 30-minute visits provided by an embedded behavioral health consultant (BHC) in the PC setting. PEPC has demonstrated effectiveness in veterans, military services members, and civilians with PTSD with about half of patients who initiate showing response with a clinically significant reduction in PTSD. This workshop will provide the full didactic portion of training in the PEPC model for BHCs and other mental health clinicians embedded in the primary care or integrated care setting. The training will include discussion of the elements of the PEPC model: written memory approach and processing, brief in vivo (taking your life back from PTSD), and psychoeducation. Didactic will cover emotional processing theory as applied to this brief PTSD model. Trainers will include video review, roleplays and discussion as tools to train attendees in how to provide PEPC to a variety of patient presentations. Trainees will be directed how to access consultation groups required if they intended to receive provider status in PEPC.

This model of PEPC training has been used in VA since 2018 to train providers with excellent success and over 450 providers trained to date. It has also been used in civilian and Department of War trainings with success. Data from training cases show clinically significant reductions in PCL-5 as well as good retention across all these initiatives.

Noon - 1 - One hour break for lunch on your own.