Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD

14-15 May, 2025

A Live, Interactive Webinar

Description:

This intensive 2-day module provides training in Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy, an evidence-based

treatment for PTSD described in the manual, Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD – Therapist Guide,

by Foa, et al., 2019. It covers the consistent and credible empirical and theoretical support for PE and

reviews the main clinical techniques used in this structured protocol. Step-by-step instructions for

conducting PE therapy sessions, including in vivo and imaginal exposure, along with strategies for

working with over- and under-engaged patients and other difficult cases are shared. Video recorded

examples of PE cases are used to demonstrate therapist skills. Participants are expected to do role-

plays in class to practice PE techniques, and they must attend both days (Acierno et al., 2017; Benuto

et al., 2020; Foa et al., 2019; Kline et al., 2020; Schnurr et al., 2022).

Total CE Credits: 14

Total Contact Hours: 14

Learning Objectives:

Following the training, attendees will be able to:

1. Formulate a rationale for Prolonged Exposure Therapy that builds rapport, improves client motivation, and increases treatment adherence.
2. Demonstrate an effective method of breathing that reduces client arousal and promotes distress tolerance.
3. Design an individualized avoidance hierarchy designed to systematically confront core fears.
4. Use in vivo exposure to block trauma related avoidance.
5. Apply imaginal exposure exercises to reduce the intensity and frequency of PTSD symptoms.
6. Apply specific skills to manage emotional engagement to increase the effectiveness of imaginal exposure.
7. Develop homework assignments that deepen exposure-based learning and further treatment goals.
8. Distinguish “hot spots” in the trauma memory in order to more efficiently reduce the intensity of associated symptoms.
9. Analyze exposure exercises to facilitate new learning and modify client's unhelpful, trauma-based cognitions.
10. Integrate new strategies to revise unhelpful cognitions that promote avoidance and maintain symptoms.
11. Evaluate Prolonged Exposure Therapy outcomes using standardized procedures and use assessment data to refine treatment planning.
12. Modify exposure techniques in a theoretically consistent manner to improve accessibility and clinical outcomes for specific patients.

Target Audience: For behavioral health providers who treat military personnel, veterans, and their families.   

Instructional Content Level:   Intermediate

Agenda:

Continuing Education:

Course Completion Requirements: Participants are required to attend the entire training. Partial credits cannot be issued. Attendance is taken through the use of electronic logs, and a post-training evaluation form must be completed in order to receive ACE social work CE credits. For other CE credits, completion of the evaluation is strongly encouraged, but if you do not wish to complete the evaluation, please contact the training event's POC after the training event.  

There is a 30-day time limit post-training to complete all CE requirements. CE Credit Certificates will be awarded via CE21 within 30 days after all course requirements have been completed.

American Psychological Association Sponsor Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Center for Deployment Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Association of Social Work Boards Approved Continuing Education Provider Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology, #1761, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.  Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.  The Center for Deployment Psychology maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: May 19, 2022 – May 19, 2025.  Social workers completing this course receive 14 Live, Interactive Webinar continuing education credits.

New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology Provider Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0178).

New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work Provider Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0744).

Inquiries regarding CE credits may be directed via email to William Tiwari at william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu.

Participate:

Online Platform: Zoom

Date: 14-15 May, 2025

Time: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm Eastern

Registration Information:  https://deploymentpsych.org/training

Registration Deadline: Registration will close one week prior to the training or once capacity has been met.

Cancellations/Questions: Please contact william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu if you have any questions or need to cancel your registration.

Registration Cost/Refunds: This training is free for those with a .mil email address and $45.00 for all others. Registration fees will be refunded to participants who send a written cancellation via email to william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu no less than 2 weeks before the training. No refunds will be made after the training.

Required Materials: None

Location Information: Zoom

Instructional Format: This live webinar is fully interactive. Attendees may ask and answer questions throughout the presentation and participate in instructor-led discussions.

System Requirements:   

Zoom: 

• Internet connection

• Operating System: Windows 7 or higher, Mac OS X with MacOS 10.9 or higher

• Web Browser: Internet Explorer 11+, Edge 12+, Firefox 27+, Chrome 30+, Safari 7+

• Hardware: 1Ghz processor or higher

Special Accommodations: If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please contact William Tiwari at william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu 4 weeks prior to the training so that we may provide you with appropriate service.

Grievances: For any grievances or concerns with this training including those related to course content, non-receipt of certificate or other occurrences, participants may contact CDP’s Continuing Education Director, Amanda Stanley-Hulsey at amanda.stanley-hulsey.ctr@usuhs.edu.  

Instructor Biographies:

Paula Domenici, Ph.D., is a Director of Training & Education at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland. She manages and implements training programs to enhance mental health providers' knowledge of military culture and evidence-based psychological assessments and treatments.  She oversees Star Behavioral Health Providers (SBHP), a training and referral program that is expanding access to community-based mental health care for service members, veterans, and families. SBHP is building a national network of military-aware civilian providers who support the military community and can be located in an online therapist directory. Dr Domenici specializes in trauma and the treatment of PTSD using Prolonged Exposure Therapy and trains clinicians in these topics. When she joined CDP in 2006, her first position was at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland working in the outpatient clinic and inpatient casualty care unit. Earlier in her career, she was an APA Congressional Fellow in Washington, DC, as well as a Staff Psychologist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center in California. Dr. Domenici is licensed as a psychologist in Virginia and California.

Kevin M. Holloway, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist working as Director, Online Training, Technology, and Telehealth (OT3) at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) and Assistant Professor of Medical and Clinical Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.  In this capacity, he leads a team of subject matter experts and support staff to develop and present workshops across the world to military and civilian audiences on topics in deployment behavioral health and evidence-based therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Additionally, he leads a team of mental health subject matter experts and technology experts to develop and disseminate technology solutions to improve access to and quality of professional training. This team was recognized as Gold Medal winners in the International Serious Play Awards 2019 for Operation AVATAR, Bronze Medal winners in the International Serious Play Awards 2020 for Build a Bedroom, and Gold Medal Award for Second Life Island for Preventing Suicide (SLIPS) in 2023, all interactive provider training environments in Second Life.

Dr. Holloway received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Brigham Young University in 2004, and completed his doctoral internship at the Portland, Oregon Veterans Administration hospital. 

Prior to joining CDP, Dr. Holloway worked at the Department of Defense’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology, where he led the Center’s Virtual Worlds Program which explored the use of shared virtual environments for immersive, interactive patient education, provider training, and telemental health applications.  The program was recognized as a Computerworld Honors Laureate in 2012 for the T2 Virtual PTSD Experience.  Dr. Holloway also led or contributed to projects investigating virtual reality exposure (VRE) therapy to treat PTSD, training providers in using VRE, gaming motivation for health applications, and video teleconferencing for telemental health. 

Earlier in his career, Dr. Holloway was a staff psychologist at Madigan Army Medical Center, providing care to active-duty soldiers with an emphasis on combat-related PTSD and other anxiety disorders.

**There is no commercial support or conflict of interest to report for these presenters.