Treating Post-traumatic Stress Disorder with a Prolonged Exposure Protocol Within Primary Care Behavioral Health: A Case Example

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition that impacts anywhere from 2 to 39% of primary care patients. Research suggests overall health, instances of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and utilization of primary care services are impacted by a diagnosis of PTSD. Evidenced based treatments such as cognitive process therapy and prolonged exposure (PE) are available in specialty mental health but pose many barriers to treatment and implementation into primary care. This case study serves as the first known case example with an ethnic minority civilian, examining the treatment of PTSD within the Primary Care Behavioral Health Model using the brief (5 visits), PE protocol for primary care (PE-PC). PTSD was assessed using the PCL-5. Additional variables were assessed and tracked with the following tools: PHQ-9 (depressive symptoms), GAD-7 (anxiety symptoms), QLES-SF (quality of life), and the AAQ-2 (psychological flexibility) pre/post treatment, 6 months post-treatment and 9 months post-treatment. The patient reported clinically significant decreases in symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Additionally, the patient’s scores on quality of life and psychological flexibility improved. Brief, exposure-based treatment for PTSD can be delivered within the PCBH model. This treatment may result in improved quality of life and has the potential to reduce health care costs. This case encourages the treatment of PTSD within primary care, increasing access to care for patients. Future research is needed to further investigate this protocol in primary care with underserved, civilian populations and to explore patient attitudes toward brief treatment for PTSD in a primary care setting.