MIRECC / CoE

IMPETUS-V

NEW* IMPETUS-V: IMproving Pain Education and Treatment for US Veterans. The purpose of the IMPETUS-V program is to improve treatment of chronic pain conditions by providing pain care management education for providers and for Veteran patients. Dr. Jennifer Naylor began creating this innovative approach to pain management education in 2016 with the help of a MIRECC Clinical Core Pilot grant. Her original project was a single pain management class. In collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Pain Clinic at the Durham VA, she has now expanded this into a three session Pain School!

IMPETUS-V Provider Presentation Guide V1

IMPETUS-V Provider Slides V1

IMPETUS-V Patient Presentation Guide V1

IMPETUS-V Patient Slides V1

*Updated* Self-Help Workbook for Insomnia:
Improve Your Sleep: A Self-Guided Approach for Veterans with Insomnia V2
Dr. Christi Ulmer (HSR&D Center of Innovation and MIRECC faculty, Durham site) and Dr. Leah Farrell-Carnahan (MIRECC faculty, Richmond site) are engaged in the creation of self-help options for Veterans with insomnia. In 2011, they were awarded their first MIRECC Clinical Education Grant to support their work. They have now completed translation of cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia (CBTI) into a self-management workbook format.

Ulmer CS, Farrell-Carnahan L, Hughes JM, Manber R, Leggett MK, Tatum J, Swinkels C, Beckham JC, and the Mid-Atlantic (VISN 6) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC). (2018). Improve your Sleep: A Self-Guided Approach for Veterans with Insomnia (Self-Help Workbook). 

This project has also generated development of other innovative approaches. In July of 2014, they were contacted by the National Director of Web Services, Mental Health Informatics Section, about using their draft workbook content to develop a web-based self-help course. Drs. Ulmer and Farrell-Carnahan have since served as subject matter experts for the “Path to Better Sleep” course, which is now available at www.veterantraining.va.gov/insomnia/index.asp. This spring "Path to Better Sleep" received a Digital Health Award, Silver level, in the Consumer Directed Digital Health Programs category!!!!!

In 2016, Drs. Ulmer and Farrell-Carnahan were awarded a second MIRECC Clinical Education Grant to create a 6 session telehealth-supported self-help CBTI intervention. In “Tele-Self CBTI”, a VA healthcare provider contacts the Veteran by phone on a weekly basis to support their self-help CBTI efforts. Funding is being used to create both Provider and Veteran manuals for use with this intervention. HSR&D-funded research is underway to assess the feasibility of Tele-Self CBTI, and findings will be used to support research funding applications to test the efficacy of the intervention. 

 PTSD Recovery Group:PTSD Recovery Group-Client Manual 3rd Edition    PTSD Recovery Group-Therapist Manual 3rd Edition 

Dr. John Lynch (MIRECC Faculty, Richmond site) lead the team that was awarded a MIRECC Clinical Education Grant in 2011 to support dissemination of a PTSD treatment model that emphasizes functional and adaptive coping skills.   As a result of that proposal, the PTSD Recovery Program treatment manuals (patient and therapist editions) were developed and distributed. This program has been very well received and has been implemented in several VA facilities since then. Users report positive results, and Dr. Lynch has submitted the program to the new VHA Promising Practices Consortium. An upcoming article in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma  (November 2015) will discuss outcome statistics demonstrating improvements on an adaptive behavior checklist developed by Dr. Lynch, the PCL-M, the MAPS,  and a self-efficacy scale.    

Briefings (our quarterly newsletter)  Most recent    

The Mid-Atlantic (VISN 6) MIRECC is a translational research, education and clinical center that develops and applies scientific knowledge and best practices to enhance post-deployment mental health and wellness for our Nation's Veterans and their families. The Center is dedicated to collaboration within and beyond the MIRECC to ensure that shared knowledge and skills create national resources to address post-deployment mental illness and related problems.The central campus is located at the Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Staff and collaborators are also located at the Salisbury, Richmond, Hampton and Salem VA Medical Centers.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 profoundly affected the United States in many ways. By the Fall of 2003, it was evident that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would change the current and future healthcare needs of Service Members and Veterans for both VHA and the Department of Defense (DoD). When VA released a call for proposals for new Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECCs) in late Fall of 2003, VISN 6 Mental Health (MH) leaders knew that addressing post-deployment mental health (PDMH) was most crucial to Veterans’ health for not only immediate interventions, but would be critical for decades to come. The MIRECC was awarded to the VISN 6 team of collaborative investigators at the Durham (hub site), Salisbury, Richmond and Hampton VAMCs with funding beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2005. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continued, it became increasingly evident that post-deployment mental health (PDMH) issues were emerging in large numbers and that VHA needed to learn more about the neurobiology, assessment, novel treatments, and reintegration strategies after war-time service.