2 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Clinical social workers and other staff providing direct care to individuals experiencing homelessness face multiple challenges in obtaining training and implementing evidence-based practices in diverse community settings. Critical Time Intervention (CTI) is an increasingly popular evidence based practice with these agencies. With funding from a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Center for Social Innovation developed an online multi-media training on CTI which incorporates a Community of Practice approach to encourage peer-based learning. The primary aim of this longitudinal, randomized-control study is to compare and contrast this online training modality with a face-to-face training on implementation of and fidelity to the CTI model over time. Nearly two-hundred direct service providers from 20 homeless-service agencies were randomly assigned to complete either an online or face-to-face training in CTI. Pre-post training and knowledge-retention surveys, interviews with trainers, agency administrators, and providers were conducted to track satisfaction with the training and experiences in implementing CTI. CTI-specific chart forms are used to assess fidelity to the CTI model, and administrative data from the agencies capture client-level outcomes.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an invisible wound of war, affects approximately 20%1 of the 18.5 million U.S. veterans and places them at higher risk for impaired biopsychosocial functioning. PTSD symptom severity (PTSDSS) is significantly correlated with stress and psychosocial consequences of inability to regulate emotions, control impulsive behaviors, and function within family and society. Alarming veteran PTSD rates and its insidious effects demand empirically validated treatment programs. More than a million veterans receive new diagnoses of each year. VA PTSD therapy programs reach only 1% of veterans. Nearly 35% of veterans do not respond to widely used psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatments. Training a service dog (SD) is a novel rehabilitative animal-assisted intervention that shows promise in other populations. This project evaluates the efficacy of a service dog training program (SDTP) as an alternative and adjunctive treatment and rehabilitative option for veterans with PTSD.