Center for Deployment Psychology Hosts Third Annual Conference

USU's Center for Deployment Psychology hosted its 3rd annual EBP Conference on May 11, 2023.

CDP hosted its 3rd annual EBP Conference, subtitled "Answering the Call with Focus, Flexibility, and Fidelity:

Implementing EBPs in the Wake of Public Health Crises." (Pictured, Amygdala Conference 2017, USU photo)

June 7 2023 by the Center for Deployment Psychology

On May 11, 2023, the Uniformed Services University's (USU) Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) hosted its 3rd annual Evidence-Based Psychotherapy (EBP) Conference. Subtitled “Answering the Call with Focus, Flexibility, and Fidelity: Implementing EBPs in the Wake of Public Health Crises,” the Conference featured lectures by national experts in the fields of resiliency, trauma-informed practice, and military psychology.

The focus of this year’s conference was addressing challenges faced by behavioral health providers and their patients in the face of multiple public health crises. We are all familiar with these crises, which include a global pandemic, job losses, financial distress, heightened awareness of systemic racism, military actions,natural disasters, and mass shootings, among others. While the onslaught of these public health crises has furthered our knowledge about human resilience, we have simultaneously witnessed an exacerbation of the mental health needs of our communities. Mental health referrals have increased significantly as provider availability decreased. Providers are challenged to do and serve more, with fewer resources, while concurrently coping with their own distress and avoiding burnout.

The Keynote Speaker for this conference was Dr. George Bonnano, an internationally renowned expert in the areas of trauma and resilience. He shared the results of groundbreaking research conducted at his lab at the Teachers College of Columbia University. Dr. Bonnano proposes that resiliency is the most common trajectory following trauma exposure and that flexible self-regulation is key to recovery.

Additional speakers and topics included:

• Karen Stamm, Ph.D.: Workforce Capacity and Wellbeing in US Psychologists
• Ingrid Cockhren (ACES), M.Ed.: Vulnerable Populations and Collective Trauma
• Priscilla Dass-Brailsford, Ph.D.: Trauma-Informed and Culturally Sensitive Therapy with Ethnic Populations
• Lauren Brenner, Ph.D.: Approaches to Transdiagnostic Care with the Special Forces Community
• Lisa Brown, Ph.D.: A Stepped Care Framework to Promote Recovery After a Mass Casualty Event
• Julie Holcomb, M.S. & Chad Vacco, M.A.: Modified CREST for the Treatment of Hoarding Disorder in Veterans During COVID

A total of 184 individuals attended the conference, representing a 45% increase from the previous year. The Conference drew a global audience, including attendees from Korea, Germany, and the UK. Twenty-six percent of attendees are serving on active duty, while another 22% work for the DoD in GS or contractor positions.

For the second year, the EBP Conference included a poster session to highlight promising interventions and emerging areas of focus. A sample of topics include “Adverse Childhood Events, Trauma, and Child-Centered Play Therapy,” and “e-Screening: A Means to Improve Evidence-Based Care Within the Field of Telemedicine.”

The conference was preceded by Pre-Meeting Institutes held on May 9-10. Participants chose between three 2-day workshops: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain. Each workshop includes didactic and experiential instruction designed to teach providers new skills and bolster existing skills in delivering these treatment models to military-connected patients. These intensive workshops are part of CDP’s existing training suite.

Previous iterations of the EBP Conference focused on “Moving the Needle for Military Mental Health” and "Making Space for Change: Focusing on Process in Evidence-Based Treatment." Archival information, including recordings, can be found on CDP’s dedicated EBP Conference webpage: https://deploymentpsych.org/EBPConference.

CDP trains military and civilian behavioral health professionals to provide high-quality, culturally-sensitive, evidence-based behavioral health services to military personnel, Veterans and their families. Their mission is to lead the development of a community of culturally mindful and clinically competent providers through the delivery of high-quality training and education, the convening of experts, and the dissemination of research-based treatment and the latest topics in military behavioral health.

Program courtesy of CDP