Treatment for the Mental Health Impact of Killing in War

Treatment for the Mental Health Impact of Killing in War: Augmentation of Existing Evidence-Based Mental Health Interventions

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01406834

Enrollment

Registered

2011-08-01

Start date

2011-10-31

Completion date

2013-06-30

Last updated

2014-08-18

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

Conditions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Keywords

PTSD, Veterans, Killing, Military

Brief summary

The goal of this project is to test the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a treatment module addressing the mental health and functional impact of killing in the war zone. The investigators will enroll between 12-20 Veterans who have killed in war and have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for a pilot study assessing the efficacy of the six-session treatment. Veterans will be randomized either to the treatment or to the waitlist control group.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALImpact of Killing CBT Treatment

Treatment will include six, one hours sessions with a licensed clinical psychologist or an advanced postdoctoral fellow under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist.

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 70 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of PTSD * Veteran will need to endorse having taken another life in a war zone context * Have received some prior evidence-based treatment for PTSD

Exclusion criteria

* Meet current or lifetime criteria for a psychotic disorder * Participants in current PTSD treatment will not be excluded;however,if receiving medications they will need to be stabilized on current medications for at least one month. * If receiving Prolonged Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, individuals will need to wait two weeks after they have completed the treatment to enroll in the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change in psychological symptoms as measured by the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90-R)	Measured at baseline and study completion (week 7)	A brief multidimensional self-report inventory that screens for nine symptoms of psychopathology and provides three global distress indicators.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change in killing-related maladaptive cognitions as measured by the Killing Cognitions Scale (KCS)	Measured at baseline and study completion (week 7)	Assesses killing-related maladaptive cognitions

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026