Art Therapy and Emotional Well Being in Military Populations With Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Status

Enrolling

Conditions

Emotion Processing

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Anger

Combat Stress Disorders

Nightmare

Post-Traumatic Headache

Military Family

PTSD

Combat and Operational Stress Reaction

Emotional Regulation

Military Operations

Irritable Mood

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Delayed Onset

Sleep Disturbance

Military Activity

Treatments

Behavioral: Art Therapy

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT05414708

2021-13476

Details and patient eligibility

About

Art therapy is used across the Military Health System for treatment of posttraumatic symptoms, but there is limited research on how art therapy is able to restore emotional expression and regulation in service members. This research hopes to learn about the effects of art therapy on emotional expression and regulation in service members as well as the neurological systems at work. If a participant chooses to be in this study, he or she will attend eleven sessions over a period of six to eight months. The first session will be an interview and self-assessment questionnaires to collect information on a variety of symptoms, experiences, and personality traits, and an MRI scan. During the MRI scan, participants will be asked to perform a task where they will be shown a series of neutral and negative images. The following eight sessions will be one-hour art therapy sessions with a certified art therapist. The tenth session will consist of the same self-assessment questionnaires and another MRI scan. The final session will consist of some of the same questionnaires from the tenth visit, as well as a qualitative interview done virtually three months after the tenth visit.

Full description

Art Therapy is used across the Military Health System (MHS) as part of interdisciplinary treatment programs with great success, but there is limited research on how this art therapy works. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to learn about the effects of art therapy on emotional expression and regulation in service members as well as the impact of art therapy on brain systems. If a participant chooses to be in this study he or she will attend eleven sessions over a period of six to eight months. The first session and tenth sessions of this research study will include interviews and self-assessment questionnaires to collect information on a variety of symptoms, experiences, and personality traits, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. During the MRI scan, participants will be asked to perform a task where they will be shown a series of neutral and negative images. These sessions will be about 2.5 to 3 hours. The sessions two through nine will include a one-hour art therapy sessions with a certified art therapist. The art therapy sessions are also considered research interventions. The eleventh and final session will consist of some of the same questionnaires from the tenth visit, as well as a qualitative interview done virtually three months after the tenth visit.

There is the risk that participants may experience increased psychological or emotional distress or frustration when discussing traumatic events during either the art research intervention sessions or during the questionnaires or interviews. Participants may experience a reduction in symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress (PTS), mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and/or other psychological heath disorders through the art therapy process. However, there is no guarantee that participants will benefit from being in this research. As an alternative to this research, participants can talk to your physician about art therapy or other therapeutic options.

Enrollment

40 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 64 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

DEERS Eligible
Active Duty or Veteran separated within the past 10 years
Significant posttraumatic stress symptoms (score of >/=31 on the PCL-5)

Exclusion criteria

History of moderate, severe, or penetrating brain injury
History of psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or active suicidal or homicidal ideation
History of multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, or Alzheimer's disease
History of stroke or myocardial infarction
History of brain tumor
History of seizures
Contradictions for MRI (for example, participants will be excluded for pregnancy, metal implants or suspected shrapnel, aneurysm/intracranial clips, cardiac pacemakers or implanted programmable devices or pumps)
Unable to provide informed consent
History of previous exposure to art therapy
Active substance use disorder