Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program

The mission of the Emory University Prolonged Exposure (PE) Consultant Training Program is to develop a national network of PE Consultants who can support providers in academic, community and private practice settings in the development of competencies in the delivery and implementation of PE with patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The training program is managed by Andrew M. Sherrill, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Emory University School of Medicine, and Mark S. Burton, PhD, instructor in the Department of Psychology of Georgia State University. Consultant training is led by Dr. Sherrill and Dr. Burton, alongside PE developers Sheila A. M. Rauch, PhD, ABPP and Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD, ABPP, professors in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Emory University School of Medicine. The training program has graduated 10 cohorts of consultants-in-training since the program’s inception in 2015 by Dr. Rauch and Dr. Rothbaum and colleague Liza C. Zwiebach, PhD, ABPP.  

While PE has demonstrated its effectiveness with diverse populations, this program emphasizes training clinicians who treat or plan to treat military service members and veterans diagnosed with PTSD. There are no costs to participate as a consultant-in-training, thanks to generous grant funding currently from Wounded Warrior Project (PI: Sherrill) and previously from the Bob Woodruff Foundation (PI: Rauch) and the Welcome Back Veterans Initiative (PI: Rothbaum). Similarly, there are no costs to participate as a PE trainee. PE trainees do not apply to this program; rather, PE trainees are recruited by and receive consultation from consultants-in-training.

• PE Consultant Trainers: Expertly trained PE consultants who will help PE consultants-in-training develop PE-specific consultation competencies. 
• PE Consultants-in-Training: Selected applicants of this training program who will develop PE-specific consultation competencies with at least two PE trainees. 
• PE Trainees: Clinicians with introductory knowledge of PE who will receive consultation or supervision from PE consultants-in-training with at least two PE cases.

Successful implementation of new practices cannot rely only upon the improvement of therapist skills.  Agencies must provide the infrastructure and support for implementation of evidence-based practices. The need for multilevel implementation strategies certainly applies to Prolonged Exposure. The Emory University PE Consultant Training Program aims to enhance PE consultation skills at both the trainee and organizational level. That is, in addition to increasing trainees’ PE fidelity, consultants-in-training will understand how to work with local agencies to improve organization adoption of PE (e.g., dedicating time and resources to training, patient assessment and weekly sessions of adequate time length; incentivizing favorable treatment outcomes; and, adjusting climate and culture for time-limited trauma-focused therapy). At the onset of our training program, consultants-in-training will work with our consultant trainers to develop a multilevel implementation plan.

The program requires three to six hours per week.  Consultants-in-training will participate in two hour-long conference calls. The Consultant Training Call includes all consultants-in-training and our consultant trainers, and is focused on overarching issues in learning to provide consultation, implementation issues and PE content. The PE Trainee Call includes all consultant trainers, consultants-in-training and PE trainees with content focused on PE training and moving from the consultant trainers leading the content to the consultants-in-training leading the content. During the call, consultant trainers will observe and subsequently provide constructive feedback on the performance of consultants-in-training. In addition to these calls, consultants-in-training will spend approximately 30 minutes per week with each PE trainee (in-person or by telephone). Lastly, consultants-in-training can anticipate reviewing PE trainee session recordings for three or more hours per week. As is typically the case in PE consultation, each PE trainee must complete a minimum of two successful cases to meet the proficiency standard for practice. Each consultant-in-training must have a minimum of two trainees who successfully meet the proficiency standard to obtain status as a Peer-Reviewed PE Consultant.

1. Feedback on implementation plan
   1. As a part of the application process, consultants-in-training will design an implementation plan that includes how trainees will be recruited and how the trainees’ agency will support their PE competency development during and after the formal consultation period.
   2. Applicants selected to become consultants-in-training will receive feedback on their implementation plan. 
2. Didactic training in PE consultation
   1. Components of the PE manual will be reviewed in detail. 
   2. Ample opportunity will be given for clarification.
3. Regular consultation with two PE trainees
   1. Consultants-in-training must recruit two PE trainees who each meet PE proficiency standards of didactic mastery of PE content in at least two PE cases to completion (i.e., four total cases tracked by consultants-in-training).
   2. Consultation is expected to occur every week over a period of six to eight months.
4. Weekly Consultant Training Calls
   1. All consultants-in-training (six to ten) and consultant trainers (four) will participate in these conference calls each week.
   2. This is the time for implementation didactic instruction and presentation of challenges and feedback from consultant trainers and fellow consultants-in-training.
5. Weekly PE Trainee Calls
   1. The consultants-in-training (six to ten), consultant trainers (four), and PE trainees (twelve to twenty) will participant in these conference calls each week.
   2. This is the time for PE trainees to receive feedback from all call participants (especially consultants-in-training) and to learn from other cases presented.
6. Directory listing and certificate
   1. All consultants-in-training who complete the training program will be listed on the directory of this website as Peer-Reviewed PE Consultants and PE Providers, while receiving a certificate acknowledging their peer-reviewed competency in PE consultation.
   2. PE trainees who successfully complete two cases will be given a certificate of completion.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which is dedicated to ensuring that post-9/11 impacted service members, veterans and their families make a successful transition.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the Wounded Warrior Project, which aims to foster the most successful and well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.