CTSA KL2 Visiting Scholar Grand Rounds: Massed Cognitive Processing Therapy: Treating PTSD in a Single Week

Traditionally, cognitive behavioral treatments for PTSD have been delivered primarily in-person using weekly sessions. As a result, treatment of PTSD could be completed in approximately three months, assuming regular attendance. In this talk, KL2 Visiting Scholar Philip Held, PhD, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Rush Medical College, will review the existing literature on massed PTSD treatments, in which sessions are delivered daily.

During the presentation, Dr. Held will also share outcomes from the recently completed single-arm, open-label clinical trial of 1-week massed Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD delivered entirely virtually. He will present data to demonstrate that this massed treatment is both highly feasible and that effective PTSD treatment can be delivered in as little as a single week from the comfort of patients’ homes. Massed PTSD treatment produces large symptom reductions that can be maintained for at least three months following treatment, which suggests that this delivery format is a novel and viable treatment option for individuals who have experienced trauma. The talk will conclude with future directions that massed PTSD treatments are taking. 

This talk is free and open to the public.