In-person vs Synchronous Virtual Provider Workshops for Evidence-Based Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

ABSTRACT

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID19), many mental health provider trainings for evidence-based therapies (EBTs) shifted to virtual rather than in-person formats. The purpose of this paper is to compare workshops in EBTs for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that were formerly conducted in person to workshops conducted virtually during the pandemic. Providers reported similar ratings for learning objective achievements between in-person and virtual trainings. Providers and trainers reported facilitators and barriers to learning in virtual training and provided recommendations for virtual trainings. Both provider participants and trainers identified a loss of networking opportunities as the primary drawback of virtual training.