Present- Versus Past-focused Therapy for PTSD and Substance Use Disorder

Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System

Status

Completed

Conditions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Substance Use Disorder

Alcohol Use Disorder

Treatments

Behavioral: Seeking Safety (SS)

Behavioral: Creating Change (CC)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT01274741

SPLA-CX000308-01 (VA CSRD)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study compares Creating Change, a new past-focused behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/substance use disorder (SUD), to Seeking Safety, an evidence-based present-focused behavioral therapy for PTSD/SUD.

Full description

This study evaluates a new behavioral therapy model, Creating Change (CC) for PTSD/SUD. CC helps clients explore the past as a step in their recovery process. It has major public health relevance in that it is a low-cost, flexible model designed for all trauma and substance abuse types, both genders, and all clinical settings. It has particular relevance for VA in that many veterans suffer from PTSD and SUD. The new model demonstrated positive results in two pilot studies.

Enrollment

52 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) criteria for current PTSD and current substance use disorder
Have used a substance in the 60 days prior to intake
Outpatient
Plan to stay in Boston for the next 6 months
If on psychiatric medication, are on a stable regimen for at least 4 weeks prior to participation in the study
Have a stable mailing address and live nearby enough to come to VA Boston for treatment
Able to sign informed consent
Willing to participate in all assessments and urine testing
Willing to provide a release of information for study staff to contact treaters as needed for clinical concerns

Exclusion criteria

Any current acute medical condition that would either interfere with the patient's ability to attend treatment, or would be of such severity as to affect the patient's psychological functioning
Current bipolar I disorder, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, mental retardation, or organic mental disorder
Any obvious clinical sign that the patient is not sufficiently stable to participate in the treatment, or notification by the patient's primary providers that participation would be contraindicated
Dangerousness that would present a threat to staff or patients (e.g., history of assault within the past 6 months)
The patient is mandated to treatment