Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic and disabling condition associated with severe negative effects on individuals' emotional, occupational, and social functioning. Approximately 75% of Canadians will experience a traumatic event in their lifetime, and about 9% will go on to develop PTSD. Despite the existence of several supported treatments for PTSD, research indicates that only a small minority of clinicians use these treatments in practice, leaving many patients untreated or inadequately treated. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is recommended as a first-line intervention for PTSD and studies indicate that a therapist's competence in delivering treatment is associated with patient outcomes. However, assessing therapist competence in treatment is costly and resource intensive. Another method suggested is to have clinicians rate their own competence, but there is little research examining if this method is reliable. This study will examine how clinicians' ability to rate their own competence compares to expert-rated competence in CPT. The results of this study will indicate if clinicians can accurately assess their own competence in delivering CPT, and determine if they can identify the need to seek additional consultation and resources to support the treatment, which ultimately leads to better care for the many Canadians suffering from PTSD.