Narrative Exposure Based Intervention For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
NCT ID: NCT03229525
Last Updated: 2019-12-13
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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UNKNOWN
NA
162 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2017-09-01
2021-09-30
Brief Summary
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Specific Aims and Hypotheses:
1. Develop and test the relative efficacy of two cost-effective internet-based expressive trauma therapies (written vs. spoken) relative to a non-trauma writing control for PTSD. We hypothesize that both trauma-focused expressive therapies will achieve more favorable outcomes at posttreatment and follow-up on measures of PTSD and depression symptoms, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life compared to the writing control.
2. Conduct exploratory analyses testing baseline PTSD severity, depression severity, trauma type, time since trauma, and emotional engagement in moderating the differential effects of the selected expressive therapies.
3. Test the moderation of (1) active language processing with eye tracking (i.e. how long certain words are fixated on). (2) selected linguistic elements (i.e., frequency of emotional words, frequency of the pronoun "I"), (3) perceived self-efficacy to cope with trauma memories; (4) perceived threat appraisals associated with intrusive trauma memories on treatment outcome at follow-up. We hypothesize that (1) fewer and shorter fixations on ideographic (i.e. personally relevant) trauma words when reading the trauma narrative in the eye tracker will be associated with reductions in PTSD symptoms at follow-up. (2) increased use of emotional words over the course of writing sessions will be associated with reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms at follow-up; (3) pre- to posttreatment increases in trauma memory acceptance self-efficacy; and (4) pre- to posttreatment reductions in trauma memory threat appraisals will be associated with greater symptom reduction at the follow-up assessment.
Detailed Description
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Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
SINGLE
Study Groups
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Trauma Related Expressive Writing
Participants randomized to this condition will complete six sessions during which they will write about their trauma for 20 minutes. The participant will receive instructions to write about the traumatic event that they feel affects them the most. For each session they will be instructed to write about the same event. For the first session, participants will complete psychoeducation and treatment rationale modules. The instructions for writing about the traumatic event will emphasize the importance of exploring their deepest emotions and thoughts at the time of the event, as well as providing detailed information about the event itself. For the remaining five writing sessions participants will be instructed to write about the same event and to focus on providing a detailed description of the part of the event that was most distressing to them, as well as how the event had affected their lives. A researcher will review the writing independently to ensure treatment compliance.
Trauma Related Expressive Writing
Participants will write about the traumatic event over the course of six sessions.
Neutral Expressive Writing
Participants randomized to this condition will complete six sessions during which they will write about their day, without describing emotions or opinions. Previous research has shown a significant reduction of symptoms with this type of control writing condition in participants with PTSD (Sloan et al., 2011). A researcher will review the writing to ensure compliance.
Neutral Expressive Writing
Participants will write about a neutral event over the course of six sessions.
Interventions
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Trauma Related Expressive Writing
Participants will write about the traumatic event over the course of six sessions.
Neutral Expressive Writing
Participants will write about a neutral event over the course of six sessions.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
2. Meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria for PTSD
3. Able to give consent
4. Access to a computer in a private place
5. Completes initial writing samples online
Exclusion Criteria
2. Bipolar Disorder
3. Psychosis
4. Suicidality
5. Current trauma related treatment
6. Psychotropic medication \<2 months or not stable (dosage variable) in past 2 months
7. Reading grade level \> 6th grade level
8. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
9. Traumatic Brain Injury
18 Years
65 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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University of Texas at Austin
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Michael J. Telch
Professor
Principal Investigators
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Michael Telch, Phd
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University of Texas at Austin
Mikael Rubin, MA
Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
University of Texas at Austin
Locations
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Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders
Austin, Texas, United States
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Facility Contacts
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Mikael Rubin, MA
Role: primary
Related Links
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Description Website for the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders
Other Identifiers
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2016-06-0063
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id