Consultation competencies in prolonged exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Introduction: The Emory University Prolonged Exposure (PE) Consultant Training Program seeks to develop a national network of competent PE consultants. Comprehensive training in empirically supported treatment (EST), such as PE, includes a didactic training followed by a period of experiential learning through consultation during real-world clinical practice (Karlin & Cross, 2014). Expert consultants are needed to meet demand as ESTs are disseminated.
Method: The Emory program has developed a training model to develop 18 consultation skills within five competency domains: the consultation relationship, general psychotherapy skills, PE-specific skills, trainee barriers to delivery, and implementation.
Results: The current article outlines these domains and discusses their theoretical background and applied value for PE consultant training, drawing on examples from the Emory program.
Discussion: Just as manualizing therapy has allowed for EST dissemination, the operationalizing of consultation competencies can provide a first step in disseminating evidence-based consultation practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).