Building a PTSD Community of Practice
Traumatic experiences that contribute to the development of PTSD may also leave an individual feeling isolated and disconnected from others. An important part of PTSD treatment involves maintaining a supportive network and repairing those relationships that have been damaged during the course of trauma and recovery. Family members and health care providers of individuals with PTSD often experience similar feelings of isolation and disconnection. Establishing and maintaining meaningful and dependable connections with others is important not only for the person with PTSD, but also for family members and health care teams who care for them. One way of accomplishing this for clinicians is by establishing a "PTSD Community of Practice."
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PTSD: National Center for PTSD
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Building PTSD Community Practice
PTSD: National Center for PTSD
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Building PTSD Community Practice
Rural Provider PTSD Toolkit
The community of practice concept was developed in the 1990s and was described as a group of individuals who share a craft, profession, or passion that forms either spontaneously or by design to gain knowledge and support.32 Benefits include:
Click a topic to learn more.
- Mutual support
- Collaboration for generating solutions and strategies
- Collective action to address shared concerns
- Shared experience to develop learning and problem solving
- Development of team building
- Strengthening organizational culture
Click a topic to learn more.
Profession-based
Multidisciplinary
This is a community of practice for members of a given profession involved in PTSD treatment, such as: psychologists, psychiatrists, or social workers. Group focus points may include:
- Evidence-based treatments for PTSD
- Clinical approaches and best practices
- Environmental factors that optimize outcomes
- Topical presentations
- Clincial case review
- Information and resource sharing
- Tips and strategy brainstorming
- Support and team-building discussions
This is a community of practice that includes all members of the clinical community. Inviting Veterans and their families as well as community stakeholders offers a dynamic, team-enhancing experience that supports the care of those with PTSD. Themes may include:
- Suicide prevention
- Functional and quality of life improvement
- Communication strategies that enhance the care matrix
If you are considering creating a community of practice, use this checklist as your guide. You'll need the following in order to increase your chances of success:
- A solid group leader or co-leaders are essential for attending to logistics, setting up topics and facilitating the calls (leadership can be rotated if the group prefers)
- Regularly scheduled meetings or calls can lead to more stable functioning of the connected community
- A forum archive of topics covered and recordings or slides from the group calls can be very helpful in keeping members connected
- Input from group members not only during the calls, but between the calls, is important
- Keeping the pulse on current issues and hot topics and offering open discussion or virtual chat during the calls can be invaluable in developing trust among the community as a forum for transparent and honest discussion
- Timing is also important and for many clinical sites the lunch hour may be the only reliable time
