National Center for PTSD (Executive Division)
Established in 1989 by congressional mandate, the oldest of the trauma-focused centers affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD). NCPTSD consists of seven academic centers of excellence across the U.S., with headquarters (Executive Division) at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont. The mission of NCPTSD is to advance the clinical care and social welfare of America's veterans through research, education, and training in the science, diagnosis, and treatment of PTSD and stress-related disorders.
This website entry will focus specifically on the research program of NCPTSD's Executive Division and its local affiliates. Much more information about NCPTSD's national clinical, educational, and research programs can be found at www.ncptsd.va.gov.
The Executive Division's research has focused primarily on clinical trials testing different treatments for PTSD and on veterans' health. NCPTSD has also done a considerable amount of research and evaluation in the area of disaster mental health; in fact, this prior work contributed to the creation of the National Center for Disaster Mental Health Research, the newest of the Psychiatry Department's three trauma centers.
Members
Executive Director
- Matthew J. Friedman, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology
Deputy Executive Director
- Paula P. Schnurr, PhD, Research Professor of Psychiatry
Deputy Director for Education
- Jessica L. Hamblen, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Director for Research and Education
- Laurie Slone, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Other Affiliated Investigators
- Allen J. Dietrich, MD, Professor of Community and Family Medicine, Medicine, and Pediatrics
- Thomas W. McAllister, MD, Professor of Psychiatry
- Fran H. Norris, PhD, Research Professor of Psychiatry
- Thomas E. Oxman, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Community and Family Medicine
- Claudia Zayfert, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Research
Recent research initiatives of the NCPTSD Executive Division staff and affiliated investigators have included:
- Treatment of PTSD in primary care (RESPECT-PTSD) -- a randomized clinical trial evaluating the Three-Component Model of integrated care, developed by Dartmouth faculty for the treatment of depression, for treating PTSD in veterans who seek care for PTSD in VA primary care settings.
- Consortium site (one of ten) for DOD-funded research on treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD among veterans and active duty personnel previously deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for treatment of PTSD in women -- a randomized clinical trial of cognitive-behavioral vs. present-centered treatment for PTSD in female veterans and active duty personnel.
- Best practices in disaster mental health - through an interagency agreement with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, NCPTSD collaborated with national experts and federal administrators to improve postdisaster practices and to design evaluation procedures for federally funded disaster mental health programs.
- Military, family and community networks helping with reintegration - this DoD funded project examines how a collaborative network can increase awareness in the community about the reintegration issues military members and families face following deployment to war. Increased collaboration between providers should lead to improved access to care for veterans.
- Treatment of trauma-related sleep problems, including studies of the role of fear of sleep in perpetuating residual insomnia following cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD and evaluation of a cognitive behavioral therapy for residual insomnia.
- Computer-based prolonged exposure for PTSD -- this DoD funded project aims to develop an interactive media program incorporating nascent technologies to enhance treatment delivery to military personnel in primary care settings.
Illustrative Publications
Foa, E.B., Keane, T.M., Friedman, M.J., & Cohen, J.A. (2009). Effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder: Practice guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Second Edition. New York: Guilford Publications.
Norris, F., Hamblen, J., & Rosen, C. (2009). Service characteristics and counseling outcomes: Lessons from a cross-site evaluation of crisis counseling after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research.
Schnurr, P.P., Friedman, M.J., Engel, C.C., Foa, E.B., Shea, M.T., Chow, B.K., Thurston, V., Orsillo, S., Haug, R., Turner, C., & Bernardy, N. (2007). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in women: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 297, 820-830.
Friedman, M.J., Keane, T.M., & Resick, P.A. (2007). PTSD: Science and practice - A comprehensive handbook. New York: Guilford Publications.
Friedman, M.J., Marmar, C., Baker, D., Sikes, C., & Farfel, G. (2007). Randomized, double-blind comparison of sertraline and placebo for post-traumatic stress disorder in a Department of Veterans Affairs setting. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68, 711-720.
Zayfert, C. & Becker C. B. (2007). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for PTSD: A case formulation approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Ritchie, E. C., Watson, P. J. & Friedman, M. J. (2006). Mental health intervention following disasters and mass violence. New York: Guilford Press.
Schnurr, P.P., Hayes, A.F., Lunney, C.A., McFall, M., & Uddo, M. (2006). Longitudinal analysis of the relationship between symptoms and quality of life in veterans treated for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 707-713.
Schnurr, P.P., Lunney, C.M., Sengupta, A., & Spiro, A. III. (2005). A longitudinal study of retirement in older male military veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 561-566.
Friedman, M.J., Schnurr, P.P., Sengupta, A., Holmes, T., & Ashcraft, M. (2004). The Hawaii Vietnam Veterans Project: Is minority status a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder? Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 42-50.
Zayfert, C. & DeViva, J. C. (2004). Residual insomnia following cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 69-73.
Schnurr, P.P., Friedman, M.J., Foy, D.W., Shea, M.T., Hsieh, F.Y., Lavori, P.W., et al. (2003). A randomized trial of trauma focus group therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: Results from a Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 481-489.
Schnurr, P.P., Spiro, A. III, Vielhauer, M.J., Findler, M.N., & Hamblen, J.L. (2002). Trauma in the lives of older men: Findings from the Normative Aging Study. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 8, 175-187.