Pioneering Integrated Psychological Solutions
to Prevent PTSD
Trauma care is whole person care. The definition of comprehensive trauma care is evolving, and the importance of systematically addressing the need for psychological services in trauma centers has been recently reinforced by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) new trauma center reverification requirements.
Request a consultation to learn how Dr. Moore can assist your trauma center in meeting and exceeding the new ACS mental health screening and referral requirements.
The Psychology of Acute Trauma
A Clinician’s Guide to Healing and Recovery
This groundbreaking guide is particularly aimed at clinicians working with underserved populations, providing crucial insights into the management of acute trauma survivors during the peritraumatic period. By equipping professionals with strategies to alleviate psychological distress, we may prevent the onset of PTSD, and promote posttraumatic growth. This guide is an invaluable tool for fostering effective trauma programs and enhancing the healing journey for acute trauma patients.
Adapting Interventions
for Inpatient Settings
Dr. Moore is a practicing consultation liaison clinical health psychologist, with subspecialty training in behavioral medicine and medical psychology. Practicing in a fast-paced acute care setting, such as a trauma center, offers both logistical and technical challenges that differ greatly from ambulatory settings because traditional approaches to psychodiagnostic assessment and intervention may not be feasible. The initial phases of managing the therapeutic alliance following acute injury offer special challenges, including potential barriers to empathy. Functioning as an embedded mental health specialist within a trauma center requires significant flexibility and an ability to quickly identify your patient’s immediate needs.
Evidence-based protocols delivered in traditional outpatient settings are often structured to provide between 8 and 16 sessions of psychotherapy at regular weekly time intervals, with each session typically being between 1 and 2 hours in duration. In inpatient settings, lengths of stay are short, and patients are ill. Flexibility in both the duration and frequency of follow- up visits is required. Yet psychotherapeutic interventions are important. While some patients may have lengths of stay of sufficient duration to deliver a full course of evidence-based psychotherapy, frequently admissions are brief and the evolving nature of patients’ adjustment responses necessitate the compression of treatment timelines, often to one to two sessions. Also, because patients are ill, they can often only tolerate brief sessions.
While many training programs provide a strong foundation in the provision of traditional outpatient services, few offer opportunities to learn how to adapt these protocols for use in inpatient settings. Request a workshop to learn how Dr. Moore can help to enhance your clinical practice.
Prevention Begins
at the Point of Injury
In 2014 the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma issued a call for an increased focus on addressing the psychological impact of trauma, including recommendations for screening and referral processes for patients at risk for the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depressive Disorders. Although noble in intent, at the time a dearth of resources and literature existed related to the development and implementation of dedicated integrated psychological services, with only a small handful of programs existing in our nation’s greater than 500 verified trauma centers.
Comprehensive trauma care has continued to evolve, and the importance of systematically addressing the need for psychological services in trauma centers was again reinforced by the American College of Surgeons. The 7th edition of the Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient 2022 Standards, Revised July 2025 includes several novel requirements aimed at addressing the psychological well-being of the traumatically injured patient (American College of Surgeons, 2025). Specifically, all verified Level I and II trauma centers must now develop and implement screening protocols for patients at high risk for mental health concerns with Level I, II, and III programs requiring a referral to a mental health provider for patients identified as high risk.
Dr. Moore has addressed this need by developing a novel three tiered model of integrated psychological service delivery, achieving universal screening with immediate referrals to embedded clinical health psychologists and trauma social workers while patients recover from their injuries in the hospital.
Request a consultation to learn how Dr. Moore can assist your trauma center in meeting and exceeding the new ACS mental health screening and referral requirements.