Comorbid treatment of traumatic brain injury and mental health disorders

NeuroRehabilitation. 2024 Jan 20. doi: 10.3233/NRE-230235. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Background: The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program (EHVP) is a multidisciplinary intensive outpatient treatment program for post-9/11 veterans and service members with invisible wounds, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), substance use disorders (SUD), and other anxiety- and depression-related disorders.

Objective: This article reviews the EHVP.

Methods: The different treatment tracks that provide integrated and comprehensive treatment are highlighted along with a review of the standard, adjunctive, and auxiliary services that complement individualized treatment plans.

Results: This review particularly emphasizes the adjunctive neurorehabilitation service offered to veterans and service members with a TBI history and the EVHP data that indicate large reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms across treatment tracks that are maintained across 12 months follow up. Finally, there is a discussion of possible suboptimal treatment response and the pilot programs related to different treatment augmentation strategies being deploying to ensure optimal treatment response for all.

Conclusion: Published data indicate that the two-week intensive outpatient program is an effective treatment program for a variety of complex presentations of PTSD, TBI, SUD, and other anxiety- and depression-related disorders in veterans and active duty service members.

Keywords: Posttraumatic stress disorder; mental health; military psychiatry; therapy; traumatic brain injury; veterans.