TY - JOUR
T1 - Study design comparing written exposure therapy to cognitive processing therapy for PTSD among military service members
T2 - A noninferiority trial
AU - For the STRONG STAR Consortium
AU - Sloan, Denise M.
AU - Marx, Brian P.
AU - Resick, Patricia A.
AU - Young-McCaughan, Stacey
AU - Dondanville, Katherine A.
AU - Mintz, Jim
AU - Litz, Brett T.
AU - Peterson, Alan L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2020/3
Y1 - 2020/3
N2 - Although there are a number of effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is a need to develop more efficient evidence-based PTSD treatments to address barriers to seeking and receiving treatment. Written exposure therapy (WET) is a potential alternative that is a 5-session treatment without any between-session assignments. WET has demonstrated efficacy, and low treatment dropout rates. However, prior studies with WET have primarily focused on civilian samples. Identifying efficient PTSD treatments for military service members is critical given the high prevalence of PTSD in this population. The current ongoing randomized clinical trial builds upon the existing literature by investigating whether WET is equally efficacious as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) in a sample of 150 active duty military service members diagnosed with PTSD who are randomly assigned to either WET (n = 75) or CPT (n = 75). Participants are assessed at baseline and 10, 20, and 30 weeks after the first treatment session. The primary outcome measure is PTSD symptom severity assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. Given the prevalence of PTSD and the aforementioned limitations of currently available first-line PTSD treatments, the identification of a brief, efficacious treatment that is associated with reduced patient dropout would represent a significant public health development.
AB - Although there are a number of effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is a need to develop more efficient evidence-based PTSD treatments to address barriers to seeking and receiving treatment. Written exposure therapy (WET) is a potential alternative that is a 5-session treatment without any between-session assignments. WET has demonstrated efficacy, and low treatment dropout rates. However, prior studies with WET have primarily focused on civilian samples. Identifying efficient PTSD treatments for military service members is critical given the high prevalence of PTSD in this population. The current ongoing randomized clinical trial builds upon the existing literature by investigating whether WET is equally efficacious as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) in a sample of 150 active duty military service members diagnosed with PTSD who are randomly assigned to either WET (n = 75) or CPT (n = 75). Participants are assessed at baseline and 10, 20, and 30 weeks after the first treatment session. The primary outcome measure is PTSD symptom severity assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. Given the prevalence of PTSD and the aforementioned limitations of currently available first-line PTSD treatments, the identification of a brief, efficacious treatment that is associated with reduced patient dropout would represent a significant public health development.
KW - Clinical trial
KW - Cognitive behavioral therapy
KW - Posttraumatic stress disorder
KW - Written exposure therapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076246239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85076246239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100507
DO - 10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100507
M3 - Article
C2 - 31890987
AN - SCOPUS:85076246239
SN - 2451-8654
VL - 17
JO - Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
JF - Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
M1 - 100507
ER -