Decreasing Suicide Risk Among Service Members With Posttraumatic Stress

The first session will consist of the therapist educating the participant about common reactions to trauma and providing information regarding the rationale of WET-S as a treatment for PTSD. The participant will then be given general instructions for completing the trauma narratives, specific instructions for completing the first session, and will then complete the first (30 minutes) narrative writing session. Participants will be instructed to write about the same trauma experience during each session. The importance of delving into their deepest emotions surrounding the trauma event is emphasized. All WET-S sessions will take place in a private room and begin with the therapist reading the specific writing instructions for that session and then leaving the instructions with the participant while 30-minute writing session is completed.

The TAU condition consists of daily contact and patient centered care by the acute psychiatric inpatient unit provider team (e.g., psychiatrists, therapists, case managers, behavioral health techs). TAU includes initial stabilization, nurse case management, medication management, psychoeducation groups, and discharge planning. Patients engage with the provider team daily.