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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder clinical trials at UCSD

19 in progress, 10 open to eligible people

Showing trials for
  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Pharmacotherapy, and Their Combination for PTSD

    open to eligible people ages 18-75

    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) remains a salient and debilitating problem, in the general population and for military veterans in particular. Several psychological and pharmacological treatments for PTSD have evidence to support their efficacy. However, the lack of comparative effectiveness data for PTSD treatments remains a major gap in the literature, which limits conclusions that can be drawn about which of these treatments work best. The current study will compare the effectiveness of PTSD treatments with the strongest evidentiary support - Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy and pharmacotherapy with paroxetine or venlafaxine - as well as the combination of these two treatments. A randomized trial will be conducted with a large, diverse sample of veterans with PTSD (N = 300) recruited from 6 VA Medical Centers throughout the US. Participants will complete baseline assessments, followed by an active treatment phase (involving up to 14 sessions of PE and/or medication management) with mid (7 week) and posttreatment (14 week) assessments, and follow-up assessments at 27 and 40 weeks. Study outcomes will include PTSD severity, depression, quality of life and functioning, assessed via clinical ratings and self-report measures. Further, a range of demographic and clinically relevant variables (e.g., trauma type/number, resilience) will be collected at baseline and examined as potential predictors or moderators of treatment response, addressing another gap in the PTSD treatment literature. These data will be used to develop algorithms from predicting the optimal treatment for individual patients (i.e., "personalized advantage indices"; PAIs). Effectiveness of the treatments will be compared using multilevel modeling. PAIs will be developed by conducting bootstrapped analyses to select variables that predict or moderate outcomes (clinician rated PTSD severity at Week 14), followed by jacknife analyses to determine the magnitude of the predicted difference (representing an individual's "predicted advantage" of one treatment over the others).

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • Cannabidiol and Prolonged Exposure

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The trial will include a randomized control trial to evaluate the efficacy of using Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabinoid, as an adjunctive to Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE). The trial will compare PE + CBD to PE + placebo in a sample of 136 military Veterans with PTSD at the VA San Diego Medical Center. The study represents the logical and innovative next step for augmenting existing treatments and developing novel pharmacotherapy for PTSD. Findings from the proposed RCT will inform clinical practice and policy by investigating whether administration of CBD in the context of PE therapy will improve treatment outcomes for military Veterans with PTSD.

    San Diego, California

  • Compassion Meditation vs. Health Education for Veterans

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    Chronic pain (CP) is a major health problem for military Veterans, and CP is often associated with comorbid mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. CP with psychological comorbidity is associated with increased healthcare costs, medication use, risk of suicide and rates of disability and reduced quality of life. Current empirically supported treatments do not always lead to substantial improvements (up to 50% of patients drop out or are do not respond to treatment). This project was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel intervention for addressing these challenges. Compassion meditation (CM), a meditative practice that focuses on the wish to remove suffering, is a contemplative practice that has promise for the amelioration of physical and mental health problems as well as promoting positive affect and improving quality of life. This study will evaluate the efficacy of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training for Chronic Pain with Psychological Comorbidity (CBCT-CP+) compared to Health Education while Living with Pain (H.E.L.P.) control condition, in a sample of among Veterans with CP conditions and psychological comorbidity.

    San Diego, California

  • Electrical Vestibular Nerve Stimulation (VeNS) as a Treatment for PTSD

    open to eligible people ages 22-80

    Trial title: A Randomized, Double Blind Sham Controlled Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Electrical Vestibular Nerve Stimulation (VeNS), Compared to a Sham Control for Treatment of PTSD The aim of this study: To better evaluate the efficacy of non-invasive electrical vestibular nerve stimulation (VeNS) as a method of treating PTSD, as compared to a sham control. Allocation: Randomized to either active device or control device usage. Endpoint classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment in 1:1 active to control allocation Sample size: The aim is to recruit a total of up to 300 participants. The study will last 12 weeks in total for each subject.

    San Diego, California

  • MDMA-assisted Brief Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The goal of this pilot trial is to examine the preliminary effectiveness of MDMA-facilitated bCBCT for improving chronic PTSD and relationship functioning in a sample of veterans and their intimate partners seeking care within the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

    San Diego, California

  • National Adaptive Trial for PTSD Related Insomnia

    open to eligible people ages 18-75

    Many Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have trouble sleeping or have frequent nightmares. So far, no medication has been approved for treatment of insomnia in PTSD. The purpose of this research study is to find out if taking medications called trazodone or eszopiclone can help decrease symptoms of insomnia in patients with PTSD. PTSD is a form of intense anxiety which sometimes results from severe trauma. Symptoms may include nightmares, flashbacks, troublesome memories, difficulty sleeping, poor concentration, irritability, anger, and emotional withdrawal. Insomnia is a disorder that can make it hard to fall sleep, stay asleep or cause a person to wake up too early and not be able to fall back to sleep.

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • Non-Inferiority Trial of TrIGR for PTSD

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    Trauma-related guilt is common and impairing among trauma survivors, particularly among Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The investigators' work shows that a brief treatment targeting trauma-related guilt, Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy (TrIGR), can reduce guilt and PTSD and depression symptoms. Whether TrIGR is no less effective than longer, more resource heavy PTSD treatments disseminated by by VA, like cognitive processing therapy (CPT), is the next critical question that this study will seek to answer. 158 Veterans across two VA sites will be randomized to TrIGR or CPT to evaluate changes in PTSD, depression, guilt and shame symptoms across the two treatments.

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • OSA PAP Treatment for Veterans With SUD and PTSD on Residential Treatment Unit

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    Substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur and having both disorders is associated with greater psychological and functional impairment than having either disorder alone. This is especially true in residential settings where both disorders are more severe than outpatient settings. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly comorbid with both disorders and untreated OSA is associated with worse functional impairment across multiple domains, worse quality of life, worse PTSD, higher suicidal ideation, and higher substance use and relapse rates. Treating OSA with evidence-based positive airway pressure (PAP) in Veterans with SUD/PTSD on a residential unit is a logical way to maximize treatment adherence and treatment outcomes. This study compares OSA treatment while on a SUD/PTSD residential unit to a waitlist control group. The investigators hypothesize that treating OSA on the residential unit, compared to the waitlist control, will have better functional, SUD, and PTSD outcomes.

    San Diego, California

  • Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The goal of this project is to determine if a 6-session psychotherapy intervention will help Veterans feel less deployment-related guilt and less distress related to their guilt. Half of the participants will receive the guilt focused intervention and half will receive a supportive intervention. A supplemental pilot study added in FY2021 will examine the intervention for pandemic-related guilt events.

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • Optimizing Cognitive Remediation

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    Veterans with mental illness face challenges with community reintegration, including achieving vocational success, attaining their educational goals and going back to school, and maintaining a high quality of life. VA Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers and other mental health treatment programs are designed to help Veterans overcome these barriers, but cognitive impairment often seen in Veterans with mental illness limits gains from these settings. Cognitive remediation interventions can be helpful, but they are either "one-size fits all," and thus may not be useful for all Veterans with mental illness, or are too narrow in scope, focusing on specific mental illnesses, limiting generalizability. This project will test whether an objective neurophysiological biomarker, mismatch negativity (MMN), can better match the "right" Veteran to the "right" cognitive remediation treatment regardless of their specific mental health diagnosis.

    San Diego, California

  • Intranasal Oxytocin Augmentation of Brief Couples Therapy for Veterans With PTSD

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    Leveraging veterans' intimate relationships during treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has the potential to concurrently improve PTSD symptoms and relationship quality. Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (bCBCT) is a manualized treatment designed to simultaneously improve PTSD and relationship functioning for couples in which one partner has PTSD. Although efficacious in improving PTSD, the effects of CBCT on relationship satisfaction are small, especially among Veterans. Pharmacological augmentation of bCBCT with intranasal oxytocin, a neurohormone that influences mechanisms of trauma recovery and social behavior, may help improve the efficacy of bCBCT. The purpose of this randomized placebo-controlled trial is to compare the clinical and functional outcomes of bCBCT augmented with intranasal oxytocin (bCBCT + OT) versus bCBCT plus placebo (bCBCT + PL). The investigators will also explore potential mechanisms of action: communication, empathy, and trust.

    San Diego, California

  • Effectiveness and Implementation of eScreening in Post 9/11 Transition Programs

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Electronic screening is effective for timely detection of, and intervention for, suicidal ideation and other mental health symptoms. The VA eScreening program is a patient self-report electronic screening system that has shown promise for the efficient and effective collection of mental and physical health information among Veterans. However, additional effectiveness and implementation research is warranted to evaluate the impact of eScreening within VHA. This study will address questions of the impact of eScreening compared to screening as usual, while evaluating a multi-component implementation strategy (MCIS) for optimal enterprise rollout of eScreening in VA Transition Care Management clinics.

    San Diego, California

  • Enhancing Transdiagnostic Mechanisms of Cognitive Dyscontrol (R33)

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The proposed project aims to test the cognitive and neural effects of a cognitive training in a sample of individuals seeking treatment for anxiety, depression, or traumatic stress symptoms. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 will receive a computer-based program that is designed as a cognitive training intervention and Group 2 will receive a similar computer-based exercise that researchers think will be less effective in training thinking skills (also known as a control or sham condition). Participants will be compared on cognitive performance and brain response during cognitive tasks from baseline to post-treatment.

    San Diego, California

  • Massed Prolonged Exposure for PTSD in Substance Use Treatment

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if receiving Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD in massed format (multiple sessions weekly) is as effective as receiving it with sessions once per week among veterans with PTSD and substance use disorder in intensive outpatient substance use treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Will the massed format help participants complete and benefit from Prolonged Exposure in terms of PTSD symptoms? - Will it help participants reduce substance use? Participants who are in intensive substance use treatment will be asked to complete Prolonged Exposure with either weekly sessions or multiple sessions per week.

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • MDMA-assisted Massed Prolonged Exposure for PTSD

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The overall objective of this study is to pilot the VASDHS-adapted Emory MDMA-PE Protocol (aE-MDMA-PE) and assess the effect on clinician-rated PTSD symptoms in veterans who receive full-dose MDMA and veterans who receive low-dose MDMA.

    San Diego, California

  • Psychotherapy for PTSD Among Veterans Also Receiving Drug or Alcohol Treatment

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Many people who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also struggle with problematic alcohol or drug use (substance use disorders [SUD]). Patients with both conditions prefer PTSD be treated alongside SUD. However, clinicians don't know if treatments that have been found to help those with PTSD work as well for people who also have SUD. This often leads to delaying PTSD treatment or using psychotherapies without research support. Trauma-focused psychotherapy (TFT) is the type of psychotherapy for PTSD that has been studied most often among people with both PTSD and SUD. It reduces symptoms of PTSD and substance use, although it might not work as well in those who have SUD as those who do not. Further, many patients with both PTSD and SUD do not complete TFT. Another strategy for treating PTSD is non-trauma-focused psychotherapy (NTFT). One NTFT, Present Centered Therapy, has been found to reduce symptoms of PTSD and more patients are able to complete NTFT than are able to finish TFT. However, no one has studied how well Present Centered Therapy works among patients who also have SUD. We will test which approach (TFT of NTFT) is better for reducing symptoms of PTSD and which is more likely to be completed by patients with both PTSD and SUD at VA healthcare facilities. We will also test to see whether some participants did better than others, so we can learn how to individualize treatment recommendations to patients. Participants will be assigned by chance to either TFT of NTFT. Patients assigned to TFT will receive either Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy; both are weekly psychotherapies focused on addressing thoughts and/or memories related to their trauma. Those assigned to NTFT will receive Present Centered Therapy, a weekly psychotherapy in which patients learn about how PTSD relates to their current difficulties and problem solve current life difficulties. All participants will also receive SUD treatment. Participants will answer questions about their symptoms and experience with treatment before, right after they finish, and three and six months after they finish PTSD treatment. At the end of the study we will compare which treatment approach worked better to decrease PTSD symptom severity and which treatment patients were better able to complete. We will also track other outcomes that are important to patients (e.g., how they are doing in their relationships).

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • Sequenced Treatment Effectiveness for Posttraumatic Stress

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Individuals with PTSD are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as tobacco use, drug use, alcohol misuse, and have high rates of morbidity/mortality. PTSD negatively impacts marriages, educational attainment, and occupational functioning. Some patients with PTSD can be successfully referred to specialty mental health clinics, but most patients with PTSD cannot engage in specialty care because of geographical, financial and cultural barriers and must be treated in primary care. However, policy makers do not know the best way to treat PTSD in primary care clinics, especially for patients who do not respond to the initial treatment choice. There are effective treatments for PTSD that are feasible to deliver in primary care. These treatments include commonly prescribed antidepressants and brief exposure-based therapies. However, because there are no head-to-head comparisons between pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in primary care settings, primary care providers do not know which treatments to recommend to their patients. In addition, despite high treatment non-response rates, very few studies have examined which treatment should be recommend next when patients do not respond well to the first, and no such studies have been conducted in primary care settings. This trial will be conducted in Federally Qualified Health Centers and VA Medical Centers, where the prevalence of both past trauma exposure and PTSD are particularly high. The investigators will enroll 700 primary care patients. The investigators propose to 1) compare outcomes among patients randomized to initially receive pharmacotherapy or brief psychotherapy, 2) compare outcomes among patients randomized to treatment sequences (i.e., switching and augmenting) for patients not responding to the initial treatment and 3) examine variation in treatment outcomes among different subgroups of patients. Telephone and web surveys will be used to assessed outcomes important to patients, like self-reported symptom burden, side-effects, health related quality of life, and recovery outcomes, at baseline, 4 and 8 months. Results will help patients and primary care providers choose which treatment to try first and which treatment to try second if the first is not effective.

    San Diego, California and other locations

  • Genomics of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as a common and serious mental health condition, affects about 25% of all military personnel that have served in combat. People suffering from PTSD may experience traumatic flashbacks, trouble sleeping, and problems in their relationships. This study is intended to help identify genes that influence and increase the risk of PTSD, to improve ways of detecting and treating the condition in the future. Previous research has studied genes that increase the risk of PTSD, but none of these have included a Veteran-only population. The current study focuses on US Veterans, utilizing the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) database of approximately 300,000 participants as of August 2014. In this context, participants with PTSD are referred to as "cases" and Veterans without PTSD are referred to as "controls." This project will be done in three stages. The first stage will look at MVP-obtained data and electronic health record (EHR) data to implement methods for identifying combat-exposed case patients with PTSD and combat-exposed control patients without PTSD. The second stage will assemble and validate a study population of 20,000 participants "including 10,000 combat-exposed Veterans with PTSD as cases and 10,000 combat-exposed Veterans without PTSD as controls. The third stage will conduct genetic analyses ("genotyping") comparing the cases to controls, to identify genes associated with increased risk of developing the condition.

    San Diego, California

  • Latent Structure of Multi-level Assessments and Predictors of Outcomes for Women in Recovery

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    In this study the investigators will seek to improve their understanding of how positive and negative valence systems, cognition, and arousal/interoception are inter-related in disorders of trauma, mood, substance use, and eating behavior for women involved in a court diversion program in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Women in Recovery). The investigators will recruit 100 individuals and use a wide range of assessment tools, neuroimaging measures, blood and microbiome collections and behavioral tasks to complete the baseline and follow-up study visits. Upon completion, the investigators aim to have robust and reliable dimensional measures that quantify these systems and a set of assessments that should be recommended as a clinical tool to enhance outcome prediction for the clinician and assist in determining who will likely benefit from the diversion program, and to inform future revision or augmentation of the program to increase treatment effectiveness.

Our lead scientists for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder research studies include .

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