Trauma Management Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD in an active duty sample: Design and methodology of a randomized clinical trial

Deborah C Beidel; Sandra M Neer; Clint A Bowers; Amie R Newins; Peter W Tuerk; Craig A Cunningham; Scott R Mooney; Heather N Hauck; Marti Jett

doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100491

Trauma Management Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD in an active duty sample: Design and methodology of a randomized clinical trial

Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2019 Nov 15:17:100491. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100491. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Authors

Deborah C Beidel¹, Sandra M Neer¹, Clint A Bowers¹, Amie R Newins¹, Peter W Tuerk², Craig A Cunningham³, Scott R Mooney⁴, Heather N Hauck⁵, Marti Jett⁶

Affiliations

¹ UCF RESTORES, University of Central Florida, USA.
² Department of Human Services, University of Virginia, USA.
³ United States Navy, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, USA.
⁴ Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, USA.
⁵ United States Navy, Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, USA.
⁶ US Army Center for Environmental Health Research, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from military service is a common, yet often chronic condition. Treatment outcome often is attenuated by programs that are (a) lengthy in nature and (b) constricted in their target outcomes. These limitations leave much of the emotional and behavioral impairment that accompanies PTSD unaddressed and/or unassessed. Typical PTSD treatment programs are 3-4 months in length, which is challenging for the pace of the nation's military. In this investigation, we will compare two treatments, Trauma Management Therapy (TMT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE), both redesigned to address the needs of active duty personnel (300 participants at 3 military installations). Specifically, we will compare the TMT Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP; 3 weeks) to PE's compressed (2 week) format. Both interventions will be compared to a standard course of PE (12 weeks). In addition to PTSD symptomatology, outcome measurement includes other aspects of psychopathology as well as changes in social, occupational, and familial impairment. Potential negative outcomes of massed treatment, such as increased suicidal ideation or increased alcohol use, will be assessed, as will genetic predictors of PTSD subtype and treatment outcome. This study will inform the delivery of care for military-related PTSD and particularly the use of intensive or compressed treatments for active duty personnel.

Keywords: Active duty military; Exposure therapy; Massed treatment; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Trauma Management Therapy.