Healing Trauma While Staying at Home: Using Telehealth to Conduct a Brief Treatment Program for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

• Published in: The Journal of continuing education in nursing 2023-12, p.1
• Main Authors: Lu, Weili, Caldwell, Barbara, Gao, Ni, Oursler, Janice, Wang, Ke, Beninato, John, Srijeyanthan, Jeganee, Kumi, Cindy, Sawyer, Jeremy, Giacobbe, Giovanna, Chen, Yubi, Lin, Karen Wei-Ru, Mueser, Kim T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Book publishing; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatric services; Training
• ISSN: 0022-0124
• DOI: 10.3928/02793695-20231205-01

Studies suggest that a three-session brief treatment program (Brief Relaxation, Education, and Trauma Healing [BREATHE]) can help treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms of trauma; however, the program has not been examined via telehealth. Thus, the current study evaluated the feasibility of BREATHE delivered via telehealth. The intervention included breathing retraining and psychoeducation about PTSD and trauma. Thirty participants from the community with confirmed PTSD diagnoses participated in this telehealth program. Treatment retention was high, and participants showed decreased PTSD symptoms, posttraumatic cognitions, depression, anxiety, overall psychiatric symptoms, and internalized stigma and increased resiliency at posttreatment and 3-month follow up. Results suggest that a telehealth brief treatment program for PTSD is feasible and effective for individuals with PTSD. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, xx(x), xx-xx.]