Assessing Military Clients for Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This workshop will review a method for screening, assessing, and treatment outcome monitoring of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) centered on the use of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Participants will be introduced to VA/DOD best practices for diagnosing military-related PTSD including screening for trauma-related disorders, obtaining thorough military and trauma histories, conducting a semi-structured diagnostic interview, and using self-report measures to track treatment outcome. DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for PTSD as well as Other Unspecified Specified Trauma and/or Stressor-Related Disorders are reviewed. Tools for assessing PTSD and common comorbid conditions are discussed including appropriate use of the PCL-5, Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption Questions (AUDIT-C). Semi-structured clinical interviewing techniques are reviewed as they relate to screening, diagnostic assessment, and tracking treatment outcomes. Unique variables that can impact the assessment and feedback process with a military population are identified.
Ethical Considerations for Working with Military Members and Veterans
Civilian behavioral health providers working with military service members and veterans often face ethical challenges unique to this population. Ethical practice is contingent on effective application of personal and cultural morals, as well as on following professional regulations and expectations. Information about informed consent, boundaries of cultural and clinical competence, disposition-driven diagnoses, multiple relationships, and professional fitness are all presented in the context of work with military-connected clients. Decision-making models are included to address ethical dilemmas, with specific presentation of the role of dual relationships within a clinical framework.
0900 START
1 Mil Cul 2.5 hrs
15 min break
2 Sleep D/O 1.25 hrs
LUNCH
1pm Eastern
3 Ethics (mixed) 3.5 hrs
1730 Eastern: END