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Trauma Related Expressive Writing for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

N/A
Waitlist Available
Led By Michael Telch, Phd
Research Sponsored by University of Texas at Austin
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
Males or females between the ages of 18 and 65
Meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria for PTSD
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up pre-treatment (baseline), post-treatment (2-weeks), follow-up (1 month, 3 months, 6 months)
Awards & highlights

Study Summary

This trial's aim is to develop a greater understanding of the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of narrative exposure based treatments for PTSD. There are three different treatment types being tested - trauma-related expressive writing, trauma-related expressive speaking, or a factual expressive writing control condition - on 162 participants. Assessments will be conducted pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 1-month follow-up to see which treatment type is most effective.

Eligible Conditions
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~pre-treatment (baseline), post-treatment (2-weeks), follow-up (1 month, 3 months, 6 months)
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and pre-treatment (baseline), post-treatment (2-weeks), follow-up (1 month, 3 months, 6 months) for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Outcome measures can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary outcome measures
Change in Depression symptoms
Change in PTSD symptom severity
Change in Posttraumatic Growth
+2 more

Trial Design

2Treatment groups
Active Control
Placebo Group
Group I: Trauma Related Expressive WritingActive Control1 Intervention
Participants randomized to this condition will complete six sessions during which they will write about their trauma for 20 minutes. The participant will receive instructions to write about the traumatic event that they feel affects them the most. For each session they will be instructed to write about the same event. For the first session, participants will complete psychoeducation and treatment rationale modules. The instructions for writing about the traumatic event will emphasize the importance of exploring their deepest emotions and thoughts at the time of the event, as well as providing detailed information about the event itself. For the remaining five writing sessions participants will be instructed to write about the same event and to focus on providing a detailed description of the part of the event that was most distressing to them, as well as how the event had affected their lives. A researcher will review the writing independently to ensure treatment compliance.
Group II: Neutral Expressive WritingPlacebo Group1 Intervention
Participants randomized to this condition will complete six sessions during which they will write about their day, without describing emotions or opinions. Previous research has shown a significant reduction of symptoms with this type of control writing condition in participants with PTSD (Sloan et al., 2011). A researcher will review the writing to ensure compliance.

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

University of Texas at AustinLead Sponsor
348 Previous Clinical Trials
80,210 Total Patients Enrolled
Michael Telch, PhdPrincipal InvestigatorUniversity of Texas at Austin
Mikael Rubin, MAStudy DirectorUniversity of Texas at Austin
1 Previous Clinical Trials
91 Total Patients Enrolled

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions and answers are submitted by anonymous patients, and have not been verified by our internal team.
~22 spots leftby Mar 2025