Written Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (WET)

Boston University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Cognitive Processing Therapy; Behavioral: Written Exposure Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01800773

H-31806

1R01MH095737-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Although evidence-based treatments for PTSD exist, a significant minority of individuals do not benefit from these treatments and many individuals to not seek treatment, citing barriers such as time commitment and expense of treatment. The goal of the proposed study is to establish an alternative PTSD treatment that is efficacious and efficient.

Full description

Prior research has demonstrated that written exposure therapy (WET), is an efficient, well-tolerated, and efficacious treatment for PTSD. The proposed project takes the next step in establishing WET as an intervention for PTSD by examining whether WET is equally efficacious to an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Using a randomized noninferiority controlled trial, 126 adults diagnosed with PTSD will be assigned to either WET or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Outcome data will be collected at baseline and 6-, 12-, 24-, 36- and 60-weeks post-first treatment session. The primary aim is to examine whether PTSD participants assigned to WET demonstrate PTSD symptom severity outcome that is noninferior to PTSD participants assigned to CPT. Secondary aims include examining whether expected treatment gains are sustained for both treatments and whether WET has a lower treatment dropout rate relative to CPT. Exploratory aims include examining moderators and mediators of WET and CPT. If the hypothesis that WET is noninferior to CPT is confirmed then a brief treatment option for PTSD will be established.

Enrollment: 192 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• PTSD diagnosis
• if taking psychotropic medication, on stable dose for 2 months
• Ability to read and write in English

Exclusion criteria

• not currently engaged in active PTSD treatment
• no current diagnosis of substance dependence
• no current diagnosis of psychosis

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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192 participants in 2 patient groups

Written Exposure Therapy

Experimental group

Description:

Written exposure treatment is a 5 session treatment in which participants write about their trauma event in a specified manner.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Written Exposure Therapy

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Active Comparator group

Description:

cognitive processing therapy will be included as the evidence-based treatment for PTSD in this study.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Cognitive Processing Therapy