Active clinical trials for "Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic"

Chronic combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder can be difficult to treat. The investigators believe that hypnosis, with a stress on the sensation of scent which often plays a role in the traumatic memories, can offer help for victims of this disorder who continue to suffer after receiving other treatments.

The objective of the proposed study is to test if a single IV dose of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) decreases symptoms of PTSD.

This study will compare treatment outcomes of 90 adolescent girls who are (a) at high risk for delinquency and/or are juvenile justice involved, and (b) who are experiencing symptoms of PTSD: 45 of the girls will receive Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy (TARGET, Frisman, Ford, Lin, Mallon, & Chang, in press), and their outcomes will be compared to 45 girls who receive Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU). As part of their involvement, participants will make phone calls to provide data via an interactive voice response system (IVR), meet 3 times for a research interview, and be invited to participate in a cognitive assessment substudy at the Olin Neuropsychiatric Research Center at Hartford Hospital.

The incidence of PTSD post ICU varies from unit to unit, however a significant number of patients have been shown to develop this disorder. Many patients do not recall their stay in ICU properly and yet can clearly recall nightmares, hallucinations or paranoid delusions, which may be very frightening for the patient to recall at a later stage. As yet, no interventional studies have had an impact on the development of PTSD in this population of patients. However, a recent observational multi-centre study suggested that those patients receiving a diary of their time in ICU had lower levels of symptoms of PTSD than those who did not. These results need to be verified in the form of a randomized study.

This study will determine whether trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is more effective than child-centered therapy (CCT) in reducing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children exposed to domestic violence (DV).

Evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the drug prazosin compared to placebo for combat stress-related nightmares, sleep disturbance and overall function in recently combat-exposed returnees from OIF and OEF. To evaluate the effects of the SSRI paroxetine on behavioral symptoms and overall function in this population.

Combat related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common chronic psychiatric disorder in the veteran population. Unfortunately, outcome studies of VA PTSD programs have failed to show efficacy. VA PTSD patients have been significantly less responsive to conventional therapies than other PTSD populations. Virtual Reality based exposure therapy (VRE) allows patients to feel immersed in highly interactive computer-generated environments. Within these environments patients can be exposed to anxiety-provoking stimuli in a gradual and controlled manner so that they can become desensitized to these stimuli and, in the case of PTSD, the traumatic memories evoked by these stimuli. The advantages of VRE include less reliance on the patient's ability to visualize traumatic memories and making it more difficult for patients to avoid memories during exposure therapy. It is also safer and more convenient than in vivo exposure. In this study twenty Vietnam veterans are randomly assign to either VRE or to a Treatment as Usual (TAU) control condition. Treatment would consist of ten ninety-minute individual psychotherapy sessions for both groups. Assessments would occur at pre-treatment, immediate post-treatment and at six months post-treatment.

A substantial number of US Veterans are suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following deployment in recent military conflicts, and sleep disturbance is a primary complaint of Veterans presenting to the VA with PTSD. Veterans with PTSD have more self-reported and physician-rated health problems, and health status is associated with PTSD symptom severity. Most Veterans meeting criteria for PTSD report difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep (70-91%), and increased PTSD severity is associated with increased sleep disturbance. Even after receiving treatment for PTSD, Veterans continue to experience residual insomnia at a rate of about 50%, in spite of having achieved PTSD remission. There are currently no PTSD-specific sleep interventions available, excepting an intervention that is specific to nightmares. Given the prevalence of sleep disturbance in Veterans with PTSD, the absence of interventions for PTSD-related sleep problems, and the increasing number of post-deployment Veterans with trauma-related sleep difficulties, such interventions are desperately needed. In this study, we will test the effectiveness of a multi-component cognitive-behavioral sleep intervention for PTSD that targets both nightmares and insomnia for improving the overall sleep experience of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Veterans with PTSD who are also receiving usual care. The primary objective is to pilot test the intervention for efficacy in reducing sleep disturbance. The secondary objective is to examine the relative impact of the intervention on PTSD symptoms. The project is a prospective, randomized, clinical intervention trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to a multi-component cognitive-behavioral sleep intervention for PTSD + Usual Care, or Usual Care alone. We are hypothesizing that 1) Veterans receiving the sleep intervention plus usual care will produce greater improvements (reduced total wake time, increased sleep efficiency, etc) in subjective sleep measures than will Usual Care alone; 2) Veterans receiving the sleep intervention plus usual care will produce greater improvements in nightmare frequency and severity than will Usual Care alone; and 3) the relationship between PTSD symptoms and treatment group will be significantly related to sleep quality in the period intervening baseline and follow-up.

In 2019 VA mandated that all Veterans seeking mental health care have access to flexible family mental health services in VA (VHA directive 1163.04). This study aims to respond to this mandate by further improving an evidence-based PTSD treatment designed to decrease PTSD symptoms and improve relationship satisfaction for Veterans and their romantic partners. Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (B-CBCT), an 8-session dyadic psychotherapy for PTSD, has been found to significantly reduce PTSD symptoms, but the effects of B-CBCT on relationship satisfaction are less reliable and robust. Pharmacological augmentation of psychotherapy utilizing intranasal oxytocin, a neurohormone that influences mechanisms of trauma recovery and social behavior, may help improve relationship satisfaction outcomes. If successful, the proposed study will advance knowledge of strategies for improving Veterans' quality of life by improving their intimate relationships along with PTSD symptoms.

First Responders, or Public Safety Personnel (PSP), play a key role in protecting the health and safety of Canadians, yet this important work can take a toll on their mental health, leading to an elevated risk of post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI). Mobile health approaches are a promising tool to facilitate access to confidential on-demand mental health support both when and where it is needed. There are gaps, however, in evidence to support the use of m-health apps, particularly in relation to implementation in the PSP community. The overall purpose of this prospective cohort implementation study is to explore how OnCall, a new mobile health peer-to-peer support application for Public Safety Personnel (PSP) affects peer support help-outreach in the workplace. Implementation and impact will be tracked over 6-month period in a purposive sample of 6-8 different PSP organizations across Canada. Study findings will inform recommendations for optimizing implementation of the m-health platform with employees in other PSP organisations.