Combat Disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
Combat, Psychological Treatment, Military, Psychotherapy, Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Brief summary
It is urgent to make evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for military personnel readily accessible in order to meet the growing demand for effective and efficient treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a timely manner. Effective EBTs for PTSD are available, but barriers to accessing care can deter military personnel from receiving treatment. Web-treatments represent an innovative way to overcome these barriers. The efficacy of previously developed web-treatments for PTSD appear promising, however, they are not based on treatment protocols with strong empirical support for their efficacy. No study to date has examined web-treatment of PTSD using a well-established treatment program. The purpose of this open trial is to examine the efficacy of 10 sessions of a web-version of Prolonged Exposure (PE), Web-PE, delivered over 8-weeks in 40 active-duty military personnel and veterans with PTSD who deployed post 9-11. Up to 60 individuals will be consented to obtain data from 40 for analysis. Participants will be assessed at pre-treatment and 1- and 3-months after treatment completion.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALWeb-PE Therapy
Ten 60-minute psychotherapy sessions over 8 weeks, focused on gradually confronting distressing trauma-related memories and reminders. Web-PE is an internet-based version of prolonged exposure (PE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Sponsors
University of Texas
VA Palo Alto Health Care System
University of Pennsylvania
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Active-duty military personnel and veterans who have deployed post 9/11 * Seeking treatment for PTSD * Significant PTSD symptoms as determined by a PCL-5 score greater than or equal to 31 * Has experienced a Criterion A event that is a specific combat-related event or high magnitude operational experience that occurred during a period of recent military deployment * Able to speak and read English and access to an internet-connected computer * Indication that the participant plans to be able to participant in the study for the next three months following the first assessment
Exclusion criteria
* Diagnosis of bipolar disorder or psychotic disorder, as determined by participant self-report) * Current substance dependence, as determined by participant self-report) * Diagnosis of a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, as determined by participant self-report) * Current suicidal ideation severe enough to warrant immediate attention, as determined by participant self-report) * Currently engaged in evidence-based treatment for PTSD (e.g. Prolonged Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Processing Therapy), as determined by participant self-report.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PTSD CheckList-5 (PCL-5) | Change from baseline to 1-month follow-up (post-treatment) | A 20-item self-report measure of PTSD symptoms as defined by the DSM-5. Higher scores indicate greater PTSD symptom severity. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) | Change from baseline to 1-month follow-up (post-treatment) | A 9-item measure of the severity of depressive symptoms. Higher scores indicated greater depressive symptom severity. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed