PTSD
Conditions
Brief summary
Primary care patients typically do not receive adequate PTSD treatment because of their reluctance to engage in empirically-supported treatments offered in specialty care settings. Effective treatments for PTSD are also typically not provided in primary care. Brief skill-based treatments offered in primary care may alleviate symptoms and prepare patients to engage in additional treatment. VA primary care patients with PTSD (N=62) were recruited for a randomized clinical trial comparing a Primary Care-Brief Mindfulness Program (PC-bMP) to primary care-treatment as usual (PC-TAU). PC-bMP is a 4-week group program adapted from the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum. Veterans in the PC-bMP condition demonstrated significantly greater decreases in PTSD and depressive symptoms from pre-treatment to post-treatment compared to PC-TAU. These gains were maintained at 8 and 12 week follow-up. PC-bMP participants experienced clinically significant decreases in PTSD, averaging a 15-point drop on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Exploratory analyses revealed that the describing, non-judging, and acting with awareness facets of mindfulness may account for decreases in PTSD. Our data support preliminary efficacy of a brief mindfulness-based intervention for Veterans with PTSD in primary care. Further research is needed to investigate how PC-bMP may facilitate engagement into full length empirically-supported treatment for PTSD.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPrimary Care-Brief Mindfulness Program
A 4-week group program adapted from the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum
BEHAVIORALPrimary Care-Treatment as Usual
Typical VA primary care treatment, including mental health services delivered by primary care staff.
Sponsors
Syracuse University
Syracuse VA Medical Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1\) sub-threshold or diagnostic level PTSD related to military service as determined by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale
Exclusion criteria
1\) gross cognitive impairment, 2) moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, 3) suicide attempt or intent to commit suicide in the last two months, and 4) receipt of mental healthcare (psychotherapy or medication) outside VA primary in the last two months.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| PTSD symptoms as measured by the PTSD Checklist | 8 weeks |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Depression symptoms as measured by the Patient Health Questionaire-9 | 8 weeks |
Outcome results
None listed