Background: Physical health concerns (e.g. chronic pain, fatigue) are common among clients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prior research has indicated that clients report improved physical functioning and fewer physical health symptoms after receiving Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD. However, less is known about the impact of physical functioning on the clients' PTSD symptom improvement in CPT. Objective: The current study examined the patterns of change of and between physical functioning and PTSD symptoms over the course of CPT among a diverse military, veteran, and community sample. Method: We collected clients' (N = 188) physical functioning and PTSD symptom severity prior to and during CPT using the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey and the PTSD Checklist. We used multilevel modelling to 1) evaluate the impact of baseline physical functioning on the PTSD symptom trajectory, 2) examine the trajectory of physical functioning, and 3) assess the dynamics between physical functioning and PTSD symptoms over the course of CPT. Results: Our multilevel analyses indicated that 1) physical functioning significantly improved for those with low levels of functioning prior to treatment, 2) poorer baseline physical functioning predicted slower improvements in PTSD symptoms, and 3) poorer physical functioning in one session predicted less PTSD symptom improvement by the next session. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that while physical functioning can interfere with PTSD symptom improvement, physical functioning can also improve over the course of CPT. In light of the interconnected nature of physical health and PTSD symptoms, clinicians may need to attend to lower levels of physical functioning when providing CPT or other trauma-focused therapies. Future research to determine whether specific treatment adaptations may benefit such clients is needed.

Background: Consultation is an implementation strategy that improves delivery and clinical outcomes for Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), an evidence-based practice (EBP) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about the specific components of consultation that influence the fidelity of treatment delivery or clinical outcomes. Methods: The current study examined whether specific activities performed during CPT consultation meetings were associated with better fidelity to the CPT protocol among 60 newly trained therapists or improved clinical outcomes among 135 clients treated by these therapists. Consultation activities that fall under three broad categories (discussion of the application of CPT to individual cases, review/feedback on fidelity, and technical difficulties) were measured by consultant checklists for each consultation session. Treatment fidelity (adherence to the protocol and competence of delivery) was rated by trained observers for a random sample of therapists' CPT sessions following consultation. The self-reported PTSD Checklist-IV assessed PTSD symptom change. Results: Multilevel regression analyses indicated that higher therapist consultation attendance predicted a greater decrease in their clients' PTSD symptoms and that attendance was not associated with observer-rated treatment fidelity. Discussion of the application of specific CPT strategies was the only consultation activity that was significantly associated with greater improvement in PTSD symptoms. Lastly, no consultation activities were significantly associated with treatment fidelity. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that specific consultation strategies such as emphasizing the discussion of the application of specific CPT strategies to individual cases during consultation meetings may be effective in improving the clinical outcomes of CPT.