A clinician's guide to the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder
Ariel J. Lang, Jessica L. Hamblen, Paul E. Holtzheimer, Ursula A. Kelly, Sonya B. Norman, David S. Riggs, Paula P. Schnurr, Ilse R. Wiechers
Abstract
A clinical practice guideline (CPG) is a rigorously established set of recommendations based on currently available evidence about the efficacy, safety, acceptability, and feasibility of interventions to assist with clinical decision-making. The 2023 Department of Veterans Affairs /Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder is described herein. The CPG recommendations are accompanied by a clinical algorithm, which incorporates principles of evidence-based practice, shared decision-making, and functional and contextual assessments of goals and outcomes. An overview of the CPG recommendations is combined with a discussion of questions that clinicians and patients may face in implementing the CPG and suggestions for how to effectively work with the CPG.