Assessment of a Brief Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Intervention for Use in Botswana
Post Traumatic Stress DisorderThe purpose of this study is to culturally adapt a brief psychological intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and assess its efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability in a pilot trial. The intervention has been shown to be efficacious among individuals with comorbid severe mental illness (SMI) and PTSD. The study will be conducted in three phases. The first phase will determine a description of trauma and responses to traumatic experiences among patients with severe mental illness. The first phase of the study will also determine participants' and mental health care providers' perceptions of suitable PTSD interventions in this middle-income context. The findings will then be used to culturally adapt the brief intervention in the second phase. A pilot trial will be conducted in the third phase of the study. Participants with comorbid SMI and PTSD will be randomized into two groups (n= 20 intervention group, n= 20 control group). Outcomes of the intervention such as the severity of PTSD symptoms, knowledge about PTSD will be assessed at baseline and at different timelines during the study. This study will fill the knowledge gap on trauma and its consequences among individuals with severe mental illness in Botswana, it will also contribute to the improvement of clinical practice in the management of PTSD and SMI.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorders in Police, Correctional Service Officers, and 911 Operators
Trauma and Stressor Related DisordersPost-traumatic Stress Disorders2 morePolice officers, correctional service officers, and 911-operators are at increased risk for suffering from trauma-related disorders due to their direct and indirect exposure to life-threatening events, such as shootings, violent assaults, or car accidents, among others. Typical treatments for post-traumatic stress disorders include psychotherapy and pharmacological therapies (i.e., antidepressants). Although these interventions are effective for many sufferers, they all have limitations. Thus, the investigators propose to explore the usefulness of a new therapeutic technique, reconsolidation blockade, which involves reactivating the trauma memory while under the influence of propranolol. Objectives and hypotheses: To explore the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of reconsolidation blockade therapy as an adjunct treatment for trauma- and stressor-related disorders as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Mental Disorders-5. The investigators hypothesize that, compared to the control group, 5 weekly trauma-memory reactivations under propranolol treatment will confer a significant reduction in trauma-related symptoms and significantly more health-related economic benefits. Stress symptoms and health-related costs will be assessed at 7, 26 and 52 weeks after study inclusion. In this study, the investigators will also explore the effects of reconsolidation blockade with propranolol on various neuropsychological functions.
Low Back Pain and Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Low Back PainPosttraumatic Stress DisorderThe aim is to test whether the psychotherapeutic intervention Somatic Experiencing targeting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms will have an additional positive effect on the outcomes of guided physiotherapy against chronic back pain development.
Narrative Exposure Based Intervention For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress DisorderPost-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder that affects approximately 7% of the general population. This project's aim is to develop a greater understanding of the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of narrative exposure based treatments for PTSD. Adult participants (N=162) who meet DSM-5 criteria for PTSD will be enrolled in a 3-arm randomized clinical trial consisting of trauma-related expressive writing, trauma-related expressive speaking, or a factual expressive writing control condition. Treatments will be manualized and conducted entirely through the Qualtrics survey platform. Treatment will consist of six sessions, three per week over two weeks, taking place via the internet. Assessments will be conducted pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 1-month follow-up in the lab. Assessments will be comprised of symptom self-report measures as well as two tasks completed in an eye tracker: a reading task to evaluate mechanisms underlying trauma narrative processing and a sentence production task to evaluate attentional shifts when producing verbal information Specific Aims and Hypotheses: Develop and test the relative efficacy of two cost-effective internet-based expressive trauma therapies (written vs. spoken) relative to a non-trauma writing control for PTSD. We hypothesize that both trauma-focused expressive therapies will achieve more favorable outcomes at posttreatment and follow-up on measures of PTSD and depression symptoms, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life compared to the writing control. Conduct exploratory analyses testing baseline PTSD severity, depression severity, trauma type, time since trauma, and emotional engagement in moderating the differential effects of the selected expressive therapies. Test the moderation of (1) active language processing with eye tracking (i.e. how long certain words are fixated on). (2) selected linguistic elements (i.e., frequency of emotional words, frequency of the pronoun "I"), (3) perceived self-efficacy to cope with trauma memories; (4) perceived threat appraisals associated with intrusive trauma memories on treatment outcome at follow-up. We hypothesize that (1) fewer and shorter fixations on ideographic (i.e. personally relevant) trauma words when reading the trauma narrative in the eye tracker will be associated with reductions in PTSD symptoms at follow-up. (2) increased use of emotional words over the course of writing sessions will be associated with reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms at follow-up; (3) pre- to posttreatment increases in trauma memory acceptance self-efficacy; and (4) pre- to posttreatment reductions in trauma memory threat appraisals will be associated with greater symptom reduction at the follow-up assessment.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as Treatment for Auditory Hallucinations
Psychotic DisordersMood Disorders4 moreThe present study aims to examine the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation on the severity of auditory hallucinations.
Neurobiological and Psychological Benefits of Exercise in Chronic Pain and PTSD
Chronic Musculoskeletal PainPosttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)1 moreThe wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating a new generation of Veterans, including an increasing number of women Veterans, who present with comorbid PTSD and chronic pain conditions from recent deployment-related physical injuries and exposure to psychological trauma. Health behavior change has become increasingly important in treating these conditions and proactively preventing long-term negative health sequelae, in order to benefit these Veterans directly and reduce the growing challenges to our healthcare system. The proposed CDA-2 program of research will use an innovative translational research approach to study whether a chronic progressive -based exercise program will reduce chronic pain in patients with PTSD and to elucidate and modify potential PTSD-related deficiencies in neurobiological and psychological responses to exercise to optimize the physical and psychological benefits of exercise for these individuals.
Carvedilol Versus Placebo for Treatment in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderThe investigators hypothesize that carvedilol, at less then therapeutic doses for cardiac effect, will reduce symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Service Dogs for Veterans With PTSD
PTSDThe purpose of this study is to evaluate use of service dogs for individuals who have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Objectives include: (1) assess the impact service dogs have on the mental health and quality of life of Veterans; (2) to provide recommendations to the VA to serve as guidance in providing service dogs to Veterans; and (3) To determine cost associated with total health care utilization and mental health care utilization among Veterans with PTSD.
Developmental Outcomes of Extreme Prematurity, 5-15 Years Postpartum
Preterm InfantsPost Traumatic Stress Disorder3 moreThe purpose of this study is to assess the emotional well being of mothers to preterm infants with ELBW 5-15 years after the birth. Post-traumatic symptoms and parental stress levels will be taken into consideration. In addition, the correlation between the infant's development and the mother's emotional state will be analyzed.
Propranolol Treatment of Traumatic Memories (PTTM)
Traumatic MemoryPosttraumatic Stress DisorderThis study will compare the responses of subjects with traumatic memories of varying vintages to either propranolol or placebo in a double-blind setting. It is hypothesized that those subjects who receive propranolol will experience less emotional distress when the memory is subsequently reactivated and less spontaneous re-experiences.