Written Versus Verbal Brief Cognitive Behavioral Exposure Therapy

Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research

Status: Completed

Conditions: Imaginal Exposure Therapy; Written Exposure Therapy

Treatments: Behavioral: Imaginal Exposure Therapy; Behavioral: Written Exposure Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04000217

640C89370

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to compare the efficacy of two different versions of a brief online exposure therapy program for PTSD: written versus verbal trauma narrative recounting in reducing PTSD symptom severity. Both treatments will be delivered through an interactive online program with coaching from a trained peer support specialist. Treatment will be a variable length, such that 4 to 8 sessions will be delivered, depending on each participants' rate of PTSD symptom recovery.

Enrollment: 130 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 99 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Able to read/write English
• Internet connection allowing stable access to the Vets Prevail website
• A clinically significant PCL-5 score of 31 or above.

Exclusion criteria

• A score on the suicidality item of the PHQ-9 of 3 or higher.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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130 participants in 2 patient groups

Written Exposure Therapy

Active Comparator group

Description:

Written exposure therapy (Sloan et al., 2012) is a brief evidence-based treatment for PTSD (US Dept. of VA \& DoD, 2017), wherein patients are asked to write about their trauma memories for 30 minutes, with therapist instruction and feedback before and after each writing exercise.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Written Exposure Therapy

Imaginal Exposure Therapy

Active Comparator group

Description:

Imaginal exposure therapy will involve verbal recounting of trauma memories for 30 minutes with therapist instruction and feedback before and after each recounting exercise.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Imaginal Exposure Therapy