A Comparison of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) Versus Present Centered Therapy (PCT) for Veterans

NCT ID: NCT00607815

Last Updated: 2018-06-26

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 79 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2009-06-15
• Study Completion Date: 2015-12-27

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) versus Present Centered Therapy (PCT) for male OEF/OIF Veterans with combat related PTSD.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) versus Present Centered Therapy (PCT) for male OEF/OIF Veterans with combat related PTSD.

CPT has been shown to be effective in treating trauma survivors in several treatment outcome studies, but utility with Veterans has only been examined with male Veterans in one small pilot study. In addition CPT has never been compared to a treatment as usual or supportive psychotherapy condition to control for the specific and nonspecific elements of treatment. Although Cognitive Processing Therapy is one of the main treatment modalities at several VA's, including Cincinnati, it has never been compared to PCT, nor has it been used in a large, randomized study of male OEF/OIF Veterans. It is hypothesized that individual receiving CPT will show a larger reduction in posttraumatic stress disorder and related symptoms than those individuals receiving PCT.

All male OEF/OIF Veterans will be screened for their appropriateness for the study by phone screen and then by an assessment technician. The Veteran will be assessed at pre, post, 3-month, and 1-year follow-up. The assessment technicians will be blind to the participant's condition. CPT is a 12 week long individual psychotherapy treatment shown to be effective at reducing PTSD and related symptoms for survivors of various types of traumas, including combat. PCT is a supportive counseling treatment that has been utilized as an alternative to waitlist control in VA cooperative studies of PTSD.

Conditions

PTSD

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

CPT is a highly structured protocol in which the client learns the skill of recognizing and challenging dysfunctional cognitions, first about the worst traumatic event and then later with regard to the meaning of the events for current beliefs about self and others.

Present Centered Therapy

Present Centered Therapy

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Present Centered Therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Present centered therapy is a supportive counseling model developed by Drs. Foa and Shea. The treatment is called "present centered therapy" to 1) emphasize the need to focus on the participant's current life and 2) to conceptualize the problems as being caused by PTSD, and in some cases they may have been present for a long period of time. The treatment makes a connection between PTSD and current problems thus making it a more realistic PTSD treatment and still allowing PCT to control for nonspecific therapeutic factors

Interventions

Cognitive Processing Therapy

CPT is a highly structured protocol in which the client learns the skill of recognizing and challenging dysfunctional cognitions, first about the worst traumatic event and then later with regard to the meaning of the events for current beliefs about self and others.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Present Centered Therapy

Present centered therapy is a supportive counseling model developed by Drs. Foa and Shea. The treatment is called "present centered therapy" to 1) emphasize the need to focus on the participant's current life and 2) to conceptualize the problems as being caused by PTSD, and in some cases they may have been present for a long period of time. The treatment makes a connection between PTSD and current problems thus making it a more realistic PTSD treatment and still allowing PCT to control for nonspecific therapeutic factors

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• PTSD;
• memory of the trauma;
• able to read/write;
• must be stable on medication for 3 months

Exclusion Criteria

• Psychosis;
• suicidal/homicidal intent;
• alcohol/substance dependence;
• no memory of the trauma

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 75 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Kathleen M Chard, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Locations

Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

MHBA-007-07F

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id