Exposure Therapy for Veterans With PTSD and Panic Attacks (Phase 1)

VA Office of Research and Development

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 1

Conditions

PTSD

Panic Attacks

Treatments

Behavioral: Multiple Channel Exposure Therapy- Veterans

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT01551199

CDA2-012-09F-1

Details and patient eligibility

About

To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of Multiple Channel Exposure Therapy-Veterans (MCET-V) as a treatment for returning service members with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder (PD) in two phases. The first phase of the study will examine the feasibility and acceptability of MCET-V.

Full description

With the increasing number of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans returning from war-zone areas, many will experience anxiety disorders such as PTSD and comorbid problems. Currently, about one in every six OIF/OEF veterans experiences PTSD and co-occurring PD. Although effective treatments exist for treating one or the other, we do not yet have treatments that can simultaneously target PTSD and PD. Thus, recent attention has focused on the development of multi-component treatments that simultaneously address PTSD and PD. This study is the first systematic investigation of a time-limited, multi-component cognitive-behavioral treatment for veterans with specific comorbid anxiety problems. The purpose of the first phase of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the multi-component cognitive-behavioral treatment in an open trial.

Enrollment

7 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 64 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

being a veteran of any era;
being enrolled in the Trauma Recovery Program (TRP) at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC), with a current diagnosis of PTSD and PD;
being stable on psychotropic medication for 4 weeks before study participation; and
being at least 18 years of age.

Exclusion criteria

active substance dependence, or bipolar or psychotic disorders;
severe depression and active suicidal ideation and intent (based on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV disorders [SCID-IV] & Beck Depression Inventory-2nd edition [BDI-II]);
cognitive impairment as indicated by the St. Louis University Mental Status exam (SLUMS); and
veterans currently receiving psychosocial treatment specifically targeting PTSD or panic symptoms.