NCT01800773

Written Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Written Exposure Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 192 (actual)
• Sponsor: Boston University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Although evidence-based treatments for PTSD exist, a significant minority of individuals do not benefit from these treatments and many individuals to not seek treatment, citing barriers such as time commitment and expense of treatment. The goal of the proposed study is to establish an alternative PTSD treatment that is efficacious and efficient.

Detailed description

Prior research has demonstrated that written exposure therapy (WET), is an efficient, well-tolerated, and efficacious treatment for PTSD. The proposed project takes the next step in establishing WET as an intervention for PTSD by examining whether WET is equally efficacious to an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Using a randomized noninferiority controlled trial, 126 adults diagnosed with PTSD will be assigned to either WET or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Outcome data will be collected at baseline and 6-, 12-, 24-, 36- and 60-weeks post-first treatment session. The primary aim is to examine whether PTSD participants assigned to WET demonstrate PTSD symptom severity outcome that is noninferior to PTSD participants assigned to CPT. Secondary aims include examining whether expected treatment gains are sustained for both treatments and whether WET has a lower treatment dropout rate relative to CPT. Exploratory aims include examining moderators and mediators of WET and CPT. If the hypothesis that WET is noninferior to CPT is confirmed then a brief treatment option for PTSD will be established.

Conditions

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Written Exposure Therapy	Written exposure therapy is a 5 session, weekly treatment in which individuals write about their trauma event in a specified manner.
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive Processing Therapy	Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. CPT consists of 12, weekly sessions.

Timeline

• Start date: 2013-03-09
• Primary completion: 2018-01-10
• Completion: 2018-04-30
• First posted: 2013-02-28
• Last updated: 2019-01-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States