Acceptability and feasibility of the clinician-administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 training simulator.

Abstract

Objective: The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) is regarded as the state-of-the-art method for diagnosing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To address the high demand for training in the CAPS-5, we developed the CAPS-5 Training Simulator (CAPSim), an online program in which learners administer the CAPS-5 to lifelike virtual PTSD patients and receive feedback on their performance.

Method: We created three virtual standardized PTSD patients who respond verbally to learners' spoken or typed prompts. Complexity and availability of in-course feedback varied across patients. The program was then made available to interested learners, and data on program use and user performance were collected to determine acceptability and feasibility.

Results: Over the first 4 years of the program, 4,484 users accessed the training. Of those who started the course (N = 3,022), most (83.6%) completed it. Although CAPS-5 familiarity varied, more than half of the users (58.3%) reported being moderately familiar with the CAPS-5 at baseline. Administration and scoring accuracy varied by virtual patient and by CAPS-5 item, with overall accuracy ranging from near perfect to 77.1% incorrect. Whereas the initial symptom prompts were delivered verbatim 76.2% of the time, in-sequence and additional required prompts were administered with less accuracy (46.0% and 39.2%, respectively).

Conclusions: The CAPSim is an innovative method for training CAPS-5 learners with various skill levels. The CAPSim can identify specific administrative and scoring challenges and provide personalized feedback in a manner that appears acceptable to learners. The CAPSim has promise to meet the high demand for CAPS-5 training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).