The use of empirically supported treatment components for trauma exposure: The role of therapist training and characteristics
type: CreativeWork
description: Traumatic events, or exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, are unfortunately part of many people’s lives. Exposure to traumatic events can lead to life-disrupting consequences for children and adults including mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is one of the most common negative consequences of trauma exposure (Bradley, Greene, Russ, Dutra, & Westen, 2005; Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2006). Fortunately, treatments for PTSD are effective, and a few have been identified as “probably efficacious” (Chambless & Hollon, 1998). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) were among the treatments identified as probably efficacious for the treatment of PTSD in adults and children and are considered empirically-supported treatments (ESTs). However, there is a disconnect between how we study treatments such as CBT and EMDR in controlled research environments and how the treatments are actually used in community practitioners’ offices. The efficacy of ESTs when used in parts and pieces is unknown. Some researchers have begun to identify the most successful and commonly used components of treatments. However, there is a need for theory and data to understand the components of empirically supported treatments that are in fact frequently used by community therapists and the therapist characteristics such as training, background, and personality factors, that may predict their use. The current study therefore focused on components of the ESTs CBT and EMDR, as I investigated what individual parts and pieces of the treatments are being used in community settings and to attempt to understand why certain techniques are employed to a greater or lesser extent in practice. To accomplish this, I surveyed 346 community therapists who were primarily female (84.07%) and white (86.98%), with a mean age of 44.59 years. Therapists in the study w…
abstract: Traumatic events, or exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, are unfortunately part of many people’s lives. Exposure to traumatic events can lead to life-disrupting consequences for children and adults including mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is one of the most common negative consequences of trauma exposure (Bradley, Greene, Russ, Dutra, & Westen, 2005; Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2006). Fortunately, treatments for PTSD are effective, and a few have been identified as “probably efficacious” (Chambless & Hollon, 1998). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) were among the treatments identified as probably efficacious for the treatment of PTSD in adults and children and are considered empirically-supported treatments (ESTs). However, there is a disconnect between how we study treatments such as CBT and EMDR in controlled research environments and how the treatments are actually used in community practitioners’ offices. The efficacy of ESTs when used in parts and pieces is unknown. Some researchers have begun to identify the most successful and commonly used components of treatments. However, there is a need for theory and data to understand the components of empirically supported treatments that are in fact frequently used by community therapists and the therapist characteristics such as training, background, and personality factors, that may predict their use. The current study therefore focused on components of the ESTs CBT and EMDR, as I investigated what individual parts and pieces of the treatments are being used in community settings and to attempt to understand why certain techniques are employed to a greater or lesser extent in practice. To accomplish this, I surveyed 346 community therapists who were primarily female (84.07%) and white (86.98%), with a mean age of 44.59 years. Therapists in the study w…
author: Neill, Erin
language: en
date published: 2019-01-01
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:37:49Z
provider: Iowa State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Iowa State University