Teaching therapists a better way to treat trauma and substance use together

This trial is testing whether mental health providers can learn COPE (Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure) — an effective therapy that treats trauma and addiction together — through online training instead of traditional in-person workshops. Researchers want to know if web-based training works just as well and can reach more therapists, especially those in rural areas where mental health training is hard to access.

Many veterans struggle with both trauma and substance use disorders at the same time, but very few therapists know how to treat both conditions together. Traditional in-person training is expensive and hard to access, so most providers never learn this proven treatment. This study aims to make the training easier to reach so more veterans can get the help they need.