Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for OEF/OIF Veterans

Depression Clinical Trial

Official title: Initial Randomized Controlled Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Distress and Impairment in OEF/OIF Veterans

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

This trial compares two psychotherapies, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Present Centered Therapy (PCT), for veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We hypothesize that ACT will be more effective than PCT at reducing emotional distress and improving functioning. We further hypothesize that both interventions will be highly acceptable to participants.

Clinical Trial Description

The proposed study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as compared to a control psychotherapy, Present Centered Therapy (PCT), for individuals with distress and impairment who deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). ACT was selected for study because it has a number of advantages for this population. It is not tied to any particular symptom constellation, so it can be applied to a variety of presenting concerns (Hayes, Luoma, et al., 2006; Öst, 2008, Powers et al., 2009), resulting in reduced training burden for clinicians and less need for applying sequential treatments to address co-morbidities. ACT has good face validity (i.e., "it makes sense") and conveys a compelling message to young Service Members and Veterans. ACT asks individuals to move forward in accordance with one's values regardless of limitations rather than struggling against those limitations. ACT appears to be acceptable to patients (mean attrition of 15.4% in 13 RCTs (Öst, 2008). ACT is being widely disseminated without adequate evidence of its effectiveness for this important population. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Distress
• Post-Concussion Syndrome
• Postconcussive Symptoms

• NCT number: NCT01253044
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Veterans Medical Research Foundation
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 2010
• Completion date: August 2013