NCT03110302

In-Home Exposure Therapy for Veterans With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 175 (actual)
• Sponsor: Veterans Medical Research Foundation · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study examines clinical and process outcomes following variable length prolonged exposure (PE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) delivered by one of three treatment modalities: home-based telehealth (HBT), office-based telehealth (OBT), or in-home-in-person (IHIP).

Detailed description

This study will provide a certain type of exposure therapy, called prolonged exposure therapy (PE), to military Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). One hundred and seventy-five Veterans will participate in the study. The main study goal is to compare PE conducted in three different ways: (1) PE that is office-based (OB; Veterans come to a VA clinic and meet with a therapist via telehealth, using videoconferencing technology), (2) PE delivered via home-based telehealth (HBT; Veterans stay at home and meet with the therapist via telehealth, using videoconferencing technology), and (3) PE delivered in home, in person (IHIP; the therapist goes to the Veterans' homes to provide the psychotherapy). Symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety will be examined at pre-treatment, post-treatment and at six-month follow up to determine if symptoms change over time. Study hypotheses state that the IHIP approach, compared to the other two approaches, will be more effective at reducing the PTSD symptoms experienced by these Veterans because it will help Veterans attend each session and complete the therapy "homework" assigned by the therapists (such as doing feared, but safe, activities around the house or the neighborhood). However, the delivery of IHIP may cost more than the delivery of PE via the other modalities.

Conditions

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Prolonged exposure	PE is a manualized treatment developed by Dr. Edna Foa and her colleagues. In all three treatment modalities, 7-15 weekly, 90 minute individual sessions of PE will be provided. PE is based on emotional processing theory, which proposes that avoidance and negative thoughts about the self and the world maintain PTSD symptoms over time. According to emotional processing theory, effective treatment requires repeated activation of the trauma memory (as through memory and in vivo exposure) and incorporation of corrective information into the trauma fear structure. PE has several primary components: (1) psychoeducation about PTSD and avoidance; (2) imaginal exposure with processing, wherein the participant describes the traumatic memory aloud many times and discusses it with the therapist afterward; and (3) in-vivo exposure, wherein the participant engages in feared, but safe, activities that have been avoided since the traumatic event (e.g., crowded places, driving).

Timeline

• Start date: 2012-10-01
• Primary completion: 2018-07-01
• Completion: 2018-07-01
• First posted: 2017-04-12
• Last updated: 2019-05-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States