PTSD Treatment for Veterans With Serious Mental Illness to Improve Functional Outcomes
VA Office of Research and Development
48 participants
Dec 1, 2023
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
PTSD is common among Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). Co-occurring PTSD and SMI lead to poorer mental health and physical functioning than either diagnosis alone. Despite known high prevalence rates of PTSD in SMI populations as well as disparities in prevalence and treatment use for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), little research has been done to: a) evaluate leading treatments for PTSD in individuals with SMI, and b) develop culturally responsive methods to integrate with PTSD treatments for SMI Veterans. This study aims to address research and clinical gaps by: a) testing the feasibility and acceptability of Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a VA evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD in Veterans with SMI, and b) incorporating culturally responsive assessment methods. Results from this study will inform whether WET and culturally responsive assessment are feasible to implement, acceptable to Veterans with SMI, and worth examining in standard or optimized form in a larger clinical trial.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria4
- enrolled in outpatient mental health services within the VAMHCS (including general outpatient Mental Health Clinic (MHC), Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRCs), Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM), and PTSD Clinical Teams (PCTs))
- diagnosis of PTSD as confirmed by assessment with the Clinician-administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) past month version
- SMI diagnosis as defined by VHA Directive 1160 (i.e., psychotic spectrum or bipolar disorders) as confirmed by the medical record
- regular telephone access
Exclusion Criteria2
- are engaging in moderate-to-severe substance use that would impact their ability to participate and/or would require a higher level of care
- already engaged in trauma-focused EBP for PTSD (e.g., WET, CPT, PE, or EMDR) or completed an EBP for PTSD within the past 6 months
Interventions
WET will be conducted in accordance with the Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD: A Brief Treatment Approach for Mental Health Professionals Manual and the VA evidence-based practice (EBP) rollout training.
The 5-session PTSD psychoeducation and skills protocol we will be utilizing for our PTSD education control condition was developed by PTSD clinical team (PCT) clinicians at the Washington DC VA Medical Center as a group protocol for Veterans admitted to the PCT and who were on the waitlist for individual therapy with an EBP for PTSD. The "PTSD 101" protocol consists of psychoeducation on topics related to PTSD symptoms and an introduction to PTSD-related coping skills. Its duration and structure will be similar to WET (5 weekly individual 50-minute sessions). To parallel the time an attention given in individual WET sessions more closely, participants will quietly review any written materials or videos that are a part of the manualized curriculum for 30 minutes of the session, bookended by a 10-minute check-in with their provider on symptoms and introduction to new materials at the start of session and another 10-minute debrief of reviewed materials at the end of session.
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.
NCT05674617