Clinical and Administrative Insights From Delivering Massed Trauma-Focused Therapy to Service Members and Veterans

Abstract

Despite strong evidence of their effectiveness in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prolonged exposure therapy (PE) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT) remain challenging for some service members and veterans to access and complete. Delivering PE and CPT in time-condensed or “massed” formats may reduce barriers to receiving care. PE and CPT have now been implemented across a range of tempos (e.g., multiple sessions per day across 1 week, one session per day for 3 weeks) and to multiple target populations, in a variety of contexts from individual therapy alone to full intensive outpatient programs. A massed format of treatment delivery has advantages for both patients and providers, including quicker time to recovery, less opportunity for avoidance, and improved treatment completion rates. The time-limited nature of massed treatment also creates accompanying challenges, such as less time to practice homework and greater impact when factors delay or disrupt progress. This paper discusses lessons learned from providers across diverse settings who are experienced in both delivering massed PE and CPT and managing such programs, primarily with military populations.