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10 Written Exposure Therapy Trials Near You

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No Placebo
Highly Paid
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Mental contamination-an internal experience of dirtiness evoked in the absence of physical contact with an external source-has been linked to the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to sexual abuse or assault (Adams et al., 2014; Badour et al., 2013; Brake et al., 2017). Mental contamination has been associated with greater PTSD severity (Rachman et al., 2015) and higher elevations in specific PTSD symptom clusters (particularly those of intrusive re-experiencing, negative cognitions/mood, and arousal/reactivity; Brake et al., 2019; Fergus \& Bardeen, 2016). Additionally, trauma-related mental contamination has been linked to a number of negative posttraumatic emotions such as shame, guilt, disgust, and anger (Fairbrother \& Rachman, 2004; Radomsky \& Elliott, 2009). Despite clear and consistent links between mental contamination and problematic posttraumatic outcomes following sexual trauma, there is a dearth of research investigating how existing or promising new interventions for PTSD impact mental contamination. Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a five-session treatment for PTSD that was designed to be both brief and easy to administer (Sloan et al., 2012). According to Sloan and colleagues' (2012) protocol, sessions broadly involve 30-minute exposures in which the patient writes about the events of their trauma in detail, followed by 10 minutes of discussing the exposure with the therapist. This treatment protocol has minimal therapist involvement, no homework assignments, and shorter treatment sessions. Research shows that WET is efficacious among different samples (e.g., survivors of motor vehicle accidents and combat veterans), has low dropout rates, treatment satisfaction is high, and the gains seen by participants after completion are maintained at follow-up (Sloan et al., 2012, 2013, 2018; Thompson-Hollands et al., 2018, 2019). Given these factors, WET has the potential to be a useful intervention in reducing symptoms of PTSD among a sample of survivors of sexual trauma. Given its relevance to this trauma population, a test of this intervention for its impact on reducing trauma-related mental contamination is also needed. The current study will use Single Case Experimental Design to isolate and evaluate the effects of WET in reducing both PTSD symptoms and trauma-related mental contamination among individuals with PTSD resulting from sexual trauma. Aims: Explore whether participants demonstrate reductions in mental contamination and PTSD symptoms in response to 5 sessions of WET. Visual inspection analysis and statistical methods will be used to draw conclusions regarding the effects of the interventions on PTSD symptoms and mental contamination.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Active Not Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased

20 Participants Needed

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) are highly comorbid, and comorbidity increases risk for poor functional outcomes. Risks for poor quality of life and suicide increase further for those with co-occurring PTSD and SUD diagnoses as compared to either condition alone, with suicide attempt rates three times higher for Veterans with alcohol use disorder and PTSD (Norman, Haller, Hamblen, Southwick \& Pietrzak, 2018). For patients with PTSD-SUD, there is evidence of greater PTSD symptom severity and poorer SUD treatment outcomes (e.g., Back et al., 2000), as well as higher rates of homelessness and disability (Bowe \& Rosenheck, 2015). PTSD-SUD treatments have shown promising reductions in PTSD and SUD symptoms (Flanagan, Korte, Killeen \& Back,2016). Yet, there are still major challenges in widely implementing concurrent or single-target gold-standard treatments for this population, especially with rural veterans where care access may be limited (e.g., Flanagan et al., 2016). Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a front-line, brief and effective treatment for PTSD that addresses some of the challenges posed by other gold-standard treatments. This project is designed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of Written Exposure Therapy (WET) delivered to Veterans with comorbid PTSD-SUD while they are completing a 28 day-residential SUD program (DOM SUD). The preliminary effects of the treatment during the program, and at one month and 3-month follow-up periods will also be examined, with particular attention to rates of substance use, homelessness, treatment attendance, treatment completion, quality of life, suicidality, and PTSD and depression symptoms. Veterans enrolled in the residential substance use disorder clinic will be recruited for screening into the study. Those that meet criteria for PTSD will be randomized into one of two treatment arms: Treatment as Usual (TAU: DOM SUD) and Written Exposure Therapy in a residential SUD program (resWET). Those in the TAU control group will participate in the DOM SUD treatment program, while those in the resWET group will also have five individual treatment sessions of WET. Participants will complete weekly measures of symptoms, in addition to rating cravings for substance use. Treatment completion rates will also be compiled for both DOM SUD and resWET. Participants will complete pre-treatment, post-treatment, 1 month, and 3 month follow-up measures to look for important trends regarding symptom responses to treatment (e.g., PTSD, depression), as well as suicide attempts, homelessness, treatment attendance, treatment completion, substance use, and quality of life. This preliminary data will be used to inform future studies. Additionally, providers will provide feedback to provide essential information about implementation barriers that need to be addressed for the broader uptake of the treatment approach and to enhance accessibility of the treatment. All Veterans will also provide feedback about their treatment. Findings will be used to improve the treatment and assessment approach and to prepare for a larger study to evaluate resWET.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Active Not Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased

50 Participants Needed

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.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased

48 Participants Needed

Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The main objective of this pilot trial is to determine the feasibility and initial efficacy of telehealth-delivered written exposure therapy to reduce the development of posttraumatic stress disorder after sexual assault. This pilot trial will provide the data necessary to design and support a large-scale trial.

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased
Sex:Female

80 Participants Needed

This study is for women who have experienced a sexual assault in the past six weeks and use alcohol. The research involves completing a five week behavioral treatment for stress and alcohol use. Participants will complete surveys during visits. Participants may also be asked to complete brief daily assessments on their smart phones.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased
Age:18 - 65
Sex:Female

64 Participants Needed

This trial is testing if writing about traumatic experiences (WET) helps Veterans with both substance use issues and PTSD more than other treatments. Veterans will either write about their trauma or a neutral topic over several sessions. The study aims to see if WET can improve PTSD and substance use outcomes. Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a treatment for PTSD developed through systematic evaluations of expressive writing, requiring limited patient and therapist time with no between-session assignments.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased

170 Participants Needed

The majority of women with perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do not receive mental health treatment despite the documented associations between PTSD and adverse pregnancy outcomes; this is likely due to workforce shortages, lack of data on the effectiveness of existing evidence-based treatment for PTSD in usual care obstetrics settings, and patient-level barriers to engagement such as stigma. The proposed study is a randomized controlled trial, which will examine the effectiveness of a brief evidence-based treatment for PTSD (i.e., Written Exposure Therapy) during pregnancy and the non-inferiority of delivery of this treatment by community health workers vs. delivery by mental health clinicians.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased
Age:18 - 50
Sex:Female

240 Participants Needed

This is a feasibility and acceptability study of Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for PTSD in pregnant and postpartum adolescents and youth with PTSD.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased
Age:15 - 24
Sex:Female

30 Participants Needed

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent and represents a high healthcare burden among Veterans. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a brain-based therapy that may be effective for treating PTSD. The theorized mechanism of rTMS is enhancement of emotional flexibility via the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex node of the brain's cognitive control network. Given this mechanism of action, adding rTMS to an evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) for PTSD may enhance treatment effects. Written exposure therapy (WET) is a brief EBP for PTSD found to reduce attrition compared to lengthier first line treatments. In this study, the investigators will determine if active rTMS added to WET compared with sham rTMS added to WET results in improved PTSD outcomes. The investigators will also determine if emotional flexibility is a mechanism of symptom improvement. This work will improve upon PTSD intervention and inform the mechanism of treatment effectiveness for Veterans suffering from PTSD.

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased
Age:18 - 50

98 Participants Needed

Military service members admitted to inpatient psychiatry for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) represent an at-risk group for continued SITBs and rehospitalizations in the post-discharge period. However, there is an absence of evidence-based interventions designed to be delivered on inpatient psychiatric units to reduce the risk of post-discharge SITBs. To address this gap, the investigator's research group developed Written Exposure Therapy for Suicide Prevention (WET-SP), a brief, scalable, suicide-specific psychotherapy based on the written disclosure paradigm. Written disclosure, in which an individual writes about a personally stressful experience and the related thoughts and feelings, yields improvements across physical and psychiatric domains. Pilot data suggest that written exposure also yields reductions in SITBs. Yet, no study has adapted the written exposure paradigm specifically to target the amelioration of distress associated with suicidal crises and examined whether implementing WET-SP reduces the risk of subsequent SITBs and suicide-related hospitalizations. The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to evaluate the efficacy of WET-SP, in reducing the incidence and severity of SITBs in active duty military service members following a psychiatric hospitalization due to suicidal ideation, suicide plans, or a suicide attempt. Secondary objectives are to evaluate a potential mechanism of change (i.e., decreases in thwarted belongingness \[cf. social disconnectedness\]) and moderator of outcomes (i.e., arc of narrative \[cf. linguistical parameters of the written narratives generated during treatment\]). Participants randomized to WET-SP + TAU will receive five sessions of WET-SP delivered by the study team during their psychiatric hospitalization plus treatment-as-usual (TAU). Participants randomized to TAU will receive daily contact and patient-centered care delivered by the acute psychiatric inpatient unit provider team (e.g., psychiatrists, therapists, case managers). TAU includes psychiatric assessment, initial stabilization, nurse case management, medication management, treatment of medical comorbidities, group and individual therapy, and discharge planning. Outcome assessments will be administered at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 10-, 20-, and 30-week follow-ups.
No Placebo Group

Trial Details

Trial Status:Recruiting
Trial Phase:Unphased

160 Participants Needed

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"I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer three months ago, metastatic to my liver, and I have been receiving and responding well to chemotherapy. My blood work revealed that my tumor markers have gone from 2600 in the beginning to 173 as of now, even with the delay in treatment, they are not going up. CT Scans reveal they have been shrinking as well. However, chemo is seriously deteriorating my body. I have 4 more treatments to go in this 12 treatment cycle. I am just interested in learning about my other options, if any are available to me."

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Pancreatic Cancer PatientAge: 40

"I've been struggling with ADHD and anxiety since I was 9 years old. I'm currently 30. I really don't like how numb the medications make me feel. And especially now, that I've lost my grandma and my aunt 8 days apart, my anxiety has been even worse. So I'm trying to find something new."

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"I changed my diet in 2020 and I’ve lost 95 pounds from my highest weight (283). I am 5’3”, female, and now 188. I still have a 33 BMI. I've been doing research on alternative approaches to continue my progress, which brought me here to consider clinical trials."

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"I've tried several different SSRIs over the past 23 years with no luck. Some of these new treatments seem interesting... haven't tried anything like them before. I really hope that one could work."

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"My orthopedist recommended a half replacement of my right knee. I have had both hips replaced. Currently have arthritis in knee, shoulder, and thumb. I want to avoid surgery, and I'm open-minded about trying a trial before using surgery as a last resort."

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much do clinical trials pay?

Each trial will compensate patients a different amount, but $50-100 for each visit is a fairly common range for Phase 2–4 trials (Phase 1 trials often pay substantially more). Further, most trials will cover the costs of a travel to-and-from the clinic.

How do clinical trials work?

After a researcher reviews your profile, they may choose to invite you in to a screening appointment, where they'll determine if you meet 100% of the eligibility requirements. If you do, you'll be sorted into one of the treatment groups, and receive your study drug. For some trials, there is a chance you'll receive a placebo. Across trials 30% of clinical trials have a placebo. Typically, you'll be required to check-in with the clinic every month or so. The average trial length is 12 months.

How do I participate in a study as a "healthy volunteer"?

Not all studies recruit healthy volunteers: usually, Phase 1 studies do. Participating as a healthy volunteer means you will go to a research facility several times over a few days or weeks to receive a dose of either the test treatment or a "placebo," which is a harmless substance that helps researchers compare results. You will have routine tests during these visits, and you'll be compensated for your time and travel, with the number of appointments and details varying by study.

What does the "phase" of a clinical trial mean?

The phase of a trial reveals what stage the drug is in to get approval for a specific condition. Phase 1 trials are the trials to collect safety data in humans. Phase 2 trials are those where the drug has some data showing safety in humans, but where further human data is needed on drug effectiveness. Phase 3 trials are in the final step before approval. The drug already has data showing both safety and effectiveness. As a general rule, Phase 3 trials are more promising than Phase 2, and Phase 2 trials are more promising than phase 1.

Do I need to be insured to participate in a medical study?

Clinical trials are almost always free to participants, and so do not require insurance. The only exception here are trials focused on cancer, because only a small part of the typical treatment plan is actually experimental. For these cancer trials, participants typically need insurance to cover all the non-experimental components.

What are the newest clinical trials?

Most recently, we added Written Exposure Therapy for Perinatal PTSD, Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD and Written Exposure Therapy for Suicide Prevention to the Power online platform.

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