Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| [b] Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| [c]
Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Katie A. Ragsdale, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. E-mails: kathleen.ann.ragsdale@emory.edu and brothba@emory.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program (EHVP) is a multidisciplinary intensive outpatient treatment program for post-9/11 veterans and service members with invisible wounds, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), substance use disorders (SUD), and other anxiety- and depression-related disorders. OBJECTIVE:This article reviews the EHVP. METHODS:The different treatment tracks that provide integrated and comprehensive treatment are highlighted along with a review of the standard, adjunctive, and auxiliary services that complement individualized treatment plans. RESULTS:This review particularly emphasizes the adjunctive neurorehabilitation service offered to veterans and service members with a TBI history and the EVHP data that indicate large reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms across treatment tracks that are maintained across 12 months follow up. Finally, there is a discussion of possible suboptimal treatment response and the pilot programs related to different treatment augmentation strategies being deploying to ensure optimal treatment response for all. CONCLUSION:Published data indicate that the two-week intensive outpatient program is an effective treatment program for a variety of complex presentations of PTSD, TBI, SUD, and other anxiety- and depression-related disorders in veterans and active duty service members.
