This talk will review the different evidence-based practices (EBPs) for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in diverse local and global settings. The majority of the session will focus on specific ways to acknowledge and integrate diversity- and identity-based considerations when providing treatment for PTSD, using prolonged exposure (PE) as an example of how such factors can be incorporated without changing the core elements of this EBP. The speaker will draw from case examples in her own clinical work, and work she has supervised in a range of settings (community, clinical, military, and global) to exemplify how we may use some guiding principles to incorporate diversity considerations into EBPs for PTSD.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Anu Asnaani is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Boston University in 2013. Dr. Asnaani's research interests fall under several broad categories:

1. Understanding mechanisms that maintain and underlie meaningful change in fear-based disorders (anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD) (Mechanisms of interest include: emotion regulation, anxiety sensitivity/distress tolerance, resilience, cultural values/systems, psychophysiology)

2. Improving outcomes that matter to diverse communities and working with individuals who represent a wider range of cultural groups both locally and globally (Outcomes of interest include: quality of life, functional impairment, employment, school attendance, interpersonal conflict, anger management)

3. Leveraging the use of technology and other modern advancements as a way to be innovative in our approaches to assessment and targeting of underlying mechanisms of evidence-based treatments (Technology innovations include use of: smart technology, mobile and wearable devices, ambulatory measurement tools, iterative and agile study approaches)