View clinical trials related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a preventative low-dose of Haloperidol to prevent delirium in patients undergoing a esophagectomy, pneumonectomy or thoracotomy. Delirium is state of severe confusion and some symptoms include: - Cannot think clearly - Have trouble paying attention - Have a hard time understanding what is going on around them - May see or hear things that are not there. These things seem very real to them.
Patients with PTSD, and frequent nightmares, and mild-moderate suicidal ideation, who are already taking a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) or Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) will be randomized to either prazosin or placebo. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving prazosin will have a greater reduction in suicidal ideation.
The proposed work will evaluate the ability of neurocognitive retraining of executive functions and emotional regulation to reduce neurocognitive dysfunctions that follow trauma exposure and thereby prevent PTSD. The scientific rationale for this work is the hypothesis that impaired emotional regulation interferes with the expected recovery from the early responses to traumatic events, leading into a chronic disorder. In an initial phase the investigators will recruit 20 recently traumatized participants among trauma survivors admitted to a general hospital emergency room and test the planned intervention's acceptance and right 'dosing'. In the second phase the investigators will enroll 80 recent survivors into a randomized controlled study of the new intervention. The intervention will consist of web-based neurobehavioral training interventions that instill an emotional bias toward positive stimuli, improve emotion recognition and labeling, reduce resistance to emotional distraction, and enhance executive functioning. Control participants will complete web-based video games that do not have emotion-regulatory benefits. Outcome measures will include improvement in neurocognitive functioning and in PTSD symptoms.
Patient-Centered Trauma Treatment, i.e., treatment delivered by peers with lived-experience, has the potential to increase access to trauma treatment in underserved communities. This could positively impact the lives of millions of people as 70% of adults in the U.S have experienced a traumatic event and the consequences of trauma are devastating and far reaching, including chronic and comorbid physical and mental health problems. The most known consequences of trauma include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs). Seeking Safety (SS) is the most effective evidenced-based treatment for co-occurring trauma, PTSD and SUDs. While no specific degree or experience level is required to conduct SS, all the evidence comes from studies using trained clinicians to implement the treatment, including social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. However, these research findings do not generalize to underserved communities that lack mental health professionals. Innovative approaches to treatment, such as peer-delivered services, are required to meet the demand for care in underserved areas. While the benefits of peer-delivered services have been well-documented in many areas, the value of peers in the provision of trauma-treatment is unknown. A theoretical basis supports the potential for peer-delivered trauma-treatment to be effective in addition to the strong therapist-patient bond, (i.e. therapeutic alliance (TA), which is an important predictor of treatment outcome and a typical result of peer-patient relationships. Our research question is whether there is a difference between peer-led SS (PL-SS) groups and clinician-led SS (CL-SS) groups in improving the lives of people with trauma, PTSD and SUDs? The investigators have three specific aims: 1. Determine the effectiveness of PL-SS groups compared to CL-SS groups in decreasing substance use and PTSD symptoms and improving coping skills, overall mental health and physical health. Hypothesis: PL-SS compared to CL-SS groups will be as effective in improving outcomes. 2. Compare levels of TA among PL-SS and CL-SS groups and examine the impact of TA on outcomes.Hypotheses: Levels of TA will be higher and will play more of a role in impacting outcomes in the PL-SS compared to CL-SS groups. 3. Determine if the standard Seeking Safety Instructor Training (SS-IT) is adequate for peers. Hypothesis: Peers will identify topics that will enhance the SS-IT.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of a group protocol for the delivery of evidence-based therapies in comparison to a wait-list control and evaluate the relative contribution of exposure, cognitive, and skills blocks of treatment in a 16-session manualized group treatment protocol in a sample of OIF/OEF female PTSD veterans. Hyp1: Overall improvement is expected in PTSD symptoms compared to a wait-list control group; and Hyp2: the exposure and cognitive components are expected to show greater improvement in PTSD symptoms than the skills component. Significant results will establish the efficacy of a group format for evidence-based treatments for all veterans with a PTSD diagnosis. An ancillary part of the study is to examine initial neuropsychological presentation in this population and possible changes that may occur as the result of treatment.
The goal of this study is to look at how a type of drug called cannabinoids are related to the processing of fear signals, the experience of emotions and fear, and the pattern of activity in the brain that is involved in these processes and how this relates to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs after experiencing a traumatic event(s) and is characterized by unwanted memories of the trauma(s) through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of situations that remind the person of the event, difficulty experiencing emotions, loss of interest in activities the person used to enjoy, and increased arousal, such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, anger and hypervigilance. The information gained from this study could lead to the development of new treatments for persons who suffer from anxiety or fear-based disorders.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is Canada's largest trauma centre, treating 1,100 patients annually. A traumatic experience can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which increases hospital stays, emergency visits and disability. Despite developing leadership to manage a "Code Orange" mass trauma, Sunnybrook lacks guidelines in the psychological management of patients who have experienced trauma. The department of psychiatry currently holds a Traumatic Brain Injury clinic and PTSD services for youth but lacks both immediate intervention, prevention and adult services. This research will enable us to gain best evidence expertise to develop guidelines as well as a sustainable PTSD treatment program, with clear outcomes to assess effectiveness, psychiatric morbidity, use of healthcare, disability and substance abuse. The five world-expert-consensus intervention resilience based principles will be operationalized in guidelines for the management of trauma patients, their caregivers and in routine nursing and trauma team care from the Emergency to the ward, and discharge, through to outpatient care. It is hypothesized that this will improve the psychological recovery of patients at risk of developing PTSD after a traumatic injury. In addition, early screening and intervention for increased risk of PTSD will be implemented one month after the trauma. It is hypothesized that such trauma informed psychological management, early screening and expert treatment using prolonged exposure will reduce hospital stays, functional disability, as well as longer-term psychiatric morbidity, including substance abuse.
The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of exercise + therapy to therapy alone to determine if they can improve the effects of prolonged exposure therapy (PE) in reducing symptoms of anxiety associated with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In addition the two strategies (i.e., exercise + therapy and therapy alone condition) will be compared in terms of levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is a protein that helps to support the survival of existing neurons and stimulate the growth of new neurons and synapses. BDNF is important to learning and memory in general and therefore may be associated with the learning and memory as it relates to PE and corresponding symptoms PTSD improvement.
The main purpose of this study is to determine whether functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), can distinguish between service members with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who receive either virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) or PTSD treatment other than exposure therapy. The investigators and other investigators have previously identified changes in function in multiple regions of the brain in combat veterans with PTSD, and the investigators have also seen that structural changes in the white matter associated with combat TBI are also linked with changes in function, and in turn with PTSD symptoms. However, the investigators need to confirm these findings in larger numbers, and also need to discern whether fMRI can distinguish if there is something significantly different about those who have PTSD after TBI vs. those in whom it does not follow a TBI. Finally, the investigators have previously demonstrated that exposure therapy ameliorates the functional changes in the brain induced by PTSD, but the investigators do not know if similar changes occur with other forms of therapy, so the investigators seek to compare the two directly. It is our expectation that the findings will better inform the choice of therapy for service members with combat-related PTSD, with or without TBI.
Research shows that people with PTSD are more likely to smoke than people without PTSD. It also shows that people with PTSD have more difficulty at attempts to quit smoking. This study is part of a program aimed at finding out how best to help smokers quit who also have PTSD. One option is to give patients standard smoking cessation treatment including nicotine replacement and cognitive behavioral therapy. Another option is to give patients the standard smoking cessation treatment in addition to treatment for their PTSD symptoms (called prolonged exposure). However, it is not known which method works better. In order to answer this question, patients will be assigned by chance to one of two groups. One group will be given standard smoking cessation treatment to help quit smoking. A second group will be given the standard smoking cessation intervention to help quit smoking in addition to a form of psychotherapy called Prolonged Exposure to reduce symptoms of PTSD. The patients will be randomly assigned (by chance) to one of these groups. If the patient is assigned to the smoking cessation only condition and the patient still has PTSD symptoms after the last study visit (week 30) the patient will be offered treatment for your PTSD symptoms (Prolonged Exposure) at no cost. The patient's participation will help the investigators determine if treating PTSD symptoms enhances the ability of standard smoking cessation to help people quit smoking.