Dialectical Cognitive Traumatherapy (DCT) on Patients With Severe PTSD Following Sexual Abuse

Dialectical Cognitive Traumatherapy (DCT) on Patients With Severe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Sexual Abuse - A Randomised Controlled Trial

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00481000

Acronym

PASA

Enrollment

Registered

2007-06-01

Start date

2007-04-30

Completion date

2010-10-31

Last updated

2010-04-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Keywords

Dialectical Cognitive Therapy, Clinical Psychology

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Dialectical Cognitive Traumatherapy is effective in the treatment of severe and chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following childhood sexual abuse.

Detailed description

Most studies on psychological treatments for PTSD exclude patients with severe, co-occurring psychopathology. We designed a new treatment (Dialectical Cognitive Trauma Therapy, or DCT) specifically to treat these patients. DCT includes elements of emotion regulation, mindfulness exercises, cognitive and exposure treatment, as well as new elements. This randomized controlled study evaluates the effect of inpatient DCT on these patients.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALDialectical Cognitive Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Combination with Traumafocused CBT

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

17 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Female * Minimum age of 17 * Childhood sexual abuse * Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (criteria of SCID) * At least one of the following diagnoses: Anorexia Nervosa, or Bulimia Nervosa, or substance abuse, or substance dependence, or major depression or at least 4 out of 9 criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder

Exclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of schizophrenia * Mental retardation * Body Mass Index lower than 16.5 * Acute delirium * Perilous selfharming behaviour during the last 4 month * Suicide attempt with the distinct intention to die during the last 4 month * Unstability (e.g. homelessness, acute victimisation by offender) * Pretreatment by DCT

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
PTSD Symptoms (CAPS, SCID, PDS, IESR)	1.5 years

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
general psychopathology	1.5 years
change of pain threshold	1.5 years
fMRI: activity of the amygdala	6 months

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 9, 2026