Program’s Implementation Largest In PRI History
Our Center for Trauma Prevention, Recovery, and Innovation (CTPRI) was successfully launched in November and December 2019 after a year of preparation and training across all outpatient areas of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, including our programs for children and adolescents. This launch was the single largest program implementation in the Psychiatric Research Institute’s history after our opening 11 years ago. Our leadership team of Betty Everett, Ph.D., Director; Rose Smith, Ph.D., and Sacha McBain, Ph.D., Associate Directors; and Amy Grooms, M.D., Medical Director, have done an excellent job of educating and training our staff. In fact, over 500 hours of training have been devoted to making sure that our team can recognize and successfully treat trauma even if the patient cannot initially self-identify that he or she is a trauma victim.
Our program in the Psychiatric Research Institute provides trauma screening for all patients with additional evaluations available for those who are identified as potential trauma victims. The Psychiatric Research Institute has a complete array of evidenced-based treatments, including cognitive processing, prolonged exposure, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, all provided by certified psychotherapists. Further, our psychiatrists use the latest psychopharmacological treatments to help with the patient’s symptoms associated with the disorder. The initial treatment for most trauma patients is a combination of psychotherapy and medication.
Through Dr. McBain’s work, our trauma treatment is spreading to the larger UAMS Medical Center and its Level I Trauma Center. Here the surgeons and nurses work to save the patients’ lives, but they have also realized that patients may have “emotional wounds” that can be disabling and need treatment. Dr. McBain is working closely with the UAMS Trauma Service to develop screening, initial treatment, and referral protocols for those needing psychological and emotional care.
For those readers not familiar with physical trauma treatment, a patient example may be helpful. A woman in her 30s sought treatment at the Psychiatric Research Institute for anxiety and panic attacks. As part of her evaluation, it was determined that much of her anxiety appeared to begin after she had significant medical problems due to a near fatal emergency cesarean section. Her anxiety was initially treated and she was referred to one of our expert psychologists for appropriate psychotherapy for medically related PTSD. Happily, she is doing very well as of this writing.