It Works, But How?: Examination of Mechanisms of Change in PTSD Treatment

Sheila A.M. Rauch, PhD, ABPP, led design and now serves as Deputy Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program and Director of Mental Health Research and Program Evaluation at the VA Atlanta Healthcare System. Dr. Rauch has been developing programs, conducting research and providing PTSD and Anxiety Disorders treatment for over 25 years. Her research focuses on examination of mechanisms involved in the development and treatment of PTSD and improving access to effective interventions. 

She has led several PTSD treatment outcome and mechanisms trials funded through VA/DOD and other sources and has been training providers in PTSD treatment since 2000 including working with a team to establish a PTSD training network in Japan following the triple disaster in 2011. In 2025, Processing Emotions in Primary Care Training and Implementation program that she designed and leads received the inaugural Veterans First -Outstanding Rural Mentored Implementation Project Lead and Team Award from the VA Office of Rural Health. She has published over 200 scholarly articles, chapters, and books on anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) focusing on neurobiology and factors involved in the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety disorders, psychosocial factors in medical settings, and the relation between physical health and anxiety. 

She is an author of the second edition of the Prolonged Exposure manual and patient workbook as well as the PE for Intensive outpatient programs manuals.  Dr. Rauch has been involved in the modification and adaptation of proven psychotherapeutic interventions for anxiety disorders for various populations and settings, including primary care. She is a fellow of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT), and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and previously served as a member of the ADAA Board of Directors.