View clinical trials related to Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic.
Filter by:This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of propranolol combined with trauma memory reactivation, to determination if this approach is effective in treating PTSD symptoms. Participants will include male and female combat Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars meeting DSM-IV criteria for chronic PTSD, recruited locally from the Manchester VAMC Mental Hygiene Clinic or through advertising. The presence of PTSD will be assessed using the CAPS. Participants will be randomly assigned to the propranolol or placebo drug condition. During each of six memory reactivation sessions, the participant will meet with a psychiatrist, who will ask the participant to spend ten minutes describing the event that caused their PTSD, and their reactions to it. The interviewer will facilitate this process by asking questions, keeping the participant focused on the traumatic event and encouraging him/her to identify aspects of the traumatic event that continue to provoke emotional distress. The traumatic memory reactivation will be immediately followed by administration of propranolol or placebo. Following the six treatment sessions, script-driven imagery will be used to assess HR, SC, and facial EMG responses to recollections of the traumatic event and PTSD symptoms will be assessed using the CAPS. A previously developed discriminant function will be used to classify each person as a physiologic "responder" or "non-responder." There will also be a 6-month follow-up assessment.
An increasing literature shows that omega-3 fatty acids provide numerous health benefits, including a variety of psychiatric symptoms and disorders including stress, anxiety, cognitive impairment, mood disorders (major depression and bipolar disorder) and schizophrenia. Omega-3 fatty acids may additionally represent a promising treatment strategy in patients with PTSD. Moreover, given its beneficial cardiovascular effects, adjunctive omega-3 fatty acids may also benefit the general health status of these veterans, who frequently present with a variety of comorbid medical disorders.
Patient self-efficacy, or confidence in one's ability to take the necessary steps to achieve a goal, has been shown to influence a number of important health behaviors and outcomes. However, current ways of increasing patient self-efficacy are time and labor intensive and occur away from doctor visits, where most health care is delivered. We developed, and are testing in a study the effectiveness of a new way of teaching doctors how to talk to patients during office visits in a way that will boost their patients' self-efficacy for changing important health behaviors.
Assess the effect of nepicastat in the treatment of in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in conflict or combat zone experienced veterans, in comparison to placebo.
Over 150,000 soldiers are currently deployed in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and 12% of returning OIF veterans have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intervening soon after the trauma is critical for long-term outcomes, since with time traumatic memories become resistant to treatment. The current study will compare treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine to placebo in returning OIF veterans who have returned from Iraq in the past six months, who meet criteria for early PTSD. Assessment of PTSD symptoms, brain markers, neuropsychological testing of memory, and cortisol response to an Iraq-related traumatic script before and after the intervention are proposed to provide information about the effects of the interventions on PTSD symptoms and stress-responsive hormonal systems.
Veterans returning from combat deployments face the interrelated challenges of processing their combat experiences and transitioning back to civilian life. Unfortunately, many veterans wait years or decades before seeking help for post-deployment problems, if they seek it at all. This study seeks to determine whether Internet-Based Expressive Writing (IB-EW), a brief, low-cost, easily disseminated, and resource-efficient intervention, can reduce psychological symptoms and improve functioning among Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans as they navigate this transition, while also attempting to reduce barriers to help-seeking. Expressive Writing, a highly private, readily accessible, and non-stigmatizing intervention, has a strong evidence-base in civilian populations, but its efficacy in combat veterans has not been tested. This study therefore seeks to test the efficacy of Expressive Writing in a veteran population while further enhancing its accessibility by delivering it over the internet (Internet-Based Expressive Writing; IB-EW). This study will comprise a randomized controlled trial with three conditions: (a) Internet-Based Expressive Writing, (b) Internet-Based Control Writing, and (c) No Writing/Treatment As Usual, with a total of 1152 OIF/OEF veterans randomized across these groups. Expressive Writing participants will write with feeling about their transition from being a soldier to being a civilian; Control Writing participants will write factually about the information needs of new veterans; and Treatment as Usual participants will complete the assessments but not engage in any writing assignments. Participants will complete standardized self-report measures of psychological symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and life satisfaction at baseline (Session 1) and at three months (Session 6) and six months (Session 7) post-intervention. Participants in writing conditions will write for 20 minutes on four consecutive days (Sessions 2-5) following completion of baseline measures (participants in the TAU condition will not complete Sessions 2-5). The study will also attempt to identify individual difference characteristics related to the efficacy of the treatment, to see who may be most likely to benefit from the treatment. Analyses will primarily entail multivariate analyses of variance. Power is adequate to detect even a small effect.
Objective: To develop a detailed treatment manual that modifies the existing CPT-C treatment protocol to allow for concurrent treatment of PTSD and AD, and to obtain some pilot data regarding its efficacy. Hypothesis: We predict that CPT-C will significantly reduce the number of drinking days (measured by the Timeline Follow Back Method [TLFB]) and reduce the symptoms of PTSD (measured by the [CAPS and PCL] scores). Design: This is a non-randomized, prospective study in which all participants will receive the modified CPT-C for 12 weeks by trained CPT-C clinicians, with each session lasting approximately 1-1.5 hours). Modifications to CPT-C include psychoeducation about alcohol use as an avoidance of PTSD symptoms integrated throughout treatment, integration of coping skills training for AD, weekly breathalyzer tests to measure blood alcohol level, and use and collection of daily dairies of alcohol use.
The purpose of this project is to measure brain markers and cognitive factors in twins with a history of military service with and without PTSD, and to follow them over time and measure changes in brain function and cognitive variables.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether Trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT)is more effective in the treatment of traumatized youth than treatment as usual(TAU).
Military sexual trauma (MST) is a significant women's mental health issue. There is a crucial need for effective therapies for MST-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that are well-tolerated and can be flexibly administered in a variety of treatment settings. Guided imagery is a novel, transportable intervention technique that meets these requirements and warrants research in PTSD. The proposed study will be a randomized controlled trial of the Guided Imagery for Trauma (GIFT) intervention for women veterans with MST-related PTSD. This minimal contact intervention is designed to increase coping, affect management and relaxation skills, and to fostering more positive images and beliefs associated with surviving trauma. The feasibility and tolerability of GIFT have already been demonstrated in an open-label pilot of 15 women veterans with MST-related PTSD, with very promising initial results.