Imaging Outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Battered Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Neurobiology of Severe Psychological Trauma in Women

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01517672

Enrollment

Registered

2012-01-25

Start date

2008-01-31

Completion date

2010-12-31

Last updated

2012-01-25

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

Conditions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Keywords

PTSD, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, functional MRI, neuroimaging

Brief summary

Identifying neural mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment could help elucidate reasons for variable treatment response and identify novel treatment targets. Exposure-based therapies have been associated with decreased amygdala and increased cingulate cortex response during emotional processing. The current study examined whether cognitive therapy for PTSD in women reduces activation in insula and amygdala and enhances activation in prefrontal regions during emotional anticipation and pre-treatment prefrontal activation predicts treatment response.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCognitive Trauma Therapy for Battered Women (CTT-BW)

10 individual sessions of this form of cognitive therapy, with a trained therapist.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Female. * Intimate partner violence (IPV) trauma defined as physical and/or sexual abuse committed by a romantic partner, occurring within five years of, but having ended at least one month prior to, enrollment in the study. * Seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and meeting full or partial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria for PTSD prior to treatment, verified through the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS).

Exclusion criteria

* Substance abuse in the past year * History of \>2 years of alcohol abuse * Use of psychotropic medications within 4 weeks prior to the study, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, irremovable ferromagnetic bodily material, pregnancy, or claustrophobia.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)	After 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (10-14 weeks)	The CAPS is a widely used measure of PTSD severity. Intent was to administer 10 sessions of CBT over a period of 10-14 weeks. Primary outcome was CAPS at the end of CBT administration.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
CAPS 3 months post-treatment	3 months post-treatment

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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