Compassion Meditation for PTSD

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The goal of this project is to refine an existing compassion meditation protocol for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to examine the safety and feasibility of this approach and to collect data to make initial estimates of efficacy.

Clinical Trial Description

There is considerable public and professional interest in complementary and alternative approaches, including meditation, for managing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there is little empirical support to guide their use. Multiple meditative techniques can be applied to the amelioration of this disorder, and the literature suggests that they operate by different mechanisms. Compassion meditation is a meditative practice focused on the wish that others and the self may be free of suffering. Because this particular form of meditation has been shown to elicit positive emotion and feelings of connection with other people, it is uniquely well suited to addressing PTSD, which is characterized by strong negative affect, deficits in positive emotion and social connectedness.

Compassion meditation has not been evaluated for use with PTSD patients; therefore, the goal of this project is to refine an existing compassion meditation protocol for individuals with PTSD, to examine the safety and feasibility of this approach and to collect data to make initial estimates of efficacy. The proposed project will be completed in two phases.

In phase one, the compassion meditation protocol will be executed with individuals with PTSD and iteratively refined based on therapist and participant feedback. In addition, a relaxation protocol that was used in a previous PTSD trial will be modified to match the length and format of the meditative practice.

In phase two, the investigators will complete a pilot study to examine the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial comparing these interventions and to provide information that will allow us to better design future projects. Ultimately, the research informed by this project may provide an additional option for treatment of PTSD, which would be an important contribution because existing treatment approaches are not universally acceptable or effective. ;

Study Design

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

Clinical Trial Details

NCT number	NCT02372396
Study type	Interventional
Source	Veterans Medical Research Foundation
Contact
Status	Completed
Phase	N/A
Start date	February 2015
Completion date	June 2018

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Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.

Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.