Would you like to have access to evidence-based assessment and treatment resources free of charge? If so, the new Resources for Clinicians feature on the ISTSS Web site is for you.
Empirically-validated assessment tools and treatment models are the most effective way to help people with a posttraumatic mental health problem. They also provide the best research data. The ISTSS Dissemination Task Force has a goal of encouraging the use of empirically validated resources by mental health practitioners and researchers in the trauma field.
The range of resources available on the Resources for Clinicians Web site includes adult and child assessment instruments, as well as treatment manuals and other validated tools to assist the busy clinician and researcher. Background information about these tools is available to all site visitors, but only ISTSS members can actually access the resources. So if your colleagues would like to use them, make sure they join ISTSS!
This project has only recently commenced and we are adding new resources all the time. PTSD is the main focus at this stage, although associated conditions may be included in the future. In deciding what resources to make available, the Dissemination Task Force uses several criteria. The resources must be beneficial to clinicians working with survivors of trauma; they must be free for use by ISTSS members; and there must be published peer reviewed empirical support for the resource.