Future frontiers

In this chapter we briefly summarize the challenges that exist when treating PTSD, challenges that although relevant to CPT, are certainly not unique to this therapy. We outline several lines of clinical research that we believe are critical to advance our understanding of how to optimally deliver CPT. These include improved understanding of what influences engagement, the determinants of nonresponse, and how best to match patients to optimal treatment protocols. We also highlight several innovative and exciting endeavors underway that we think will improve the impact and reach of CPT, including stepped-care approaches, online delivery, intensive delivery, and modular delivery of the protocol. We conclude by outlining several paths of research that are relatively unexplored at present but would, in our opinion, assist us in our efforts to make CPT work for as many of our patients as possible.