Telemedicine for Improved Delivery of Psychosocial Treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Posttraumatic Stress Disorders, Depression, Anxiety

In brief

The objective of the proposed study is to conduct a systematic comparison of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes for veterans receiving exposure therapy via telemedicine versus in-person care. The primary aim is to determine feasibility: whether telemedicine can be used as a tool to extend effective, specialized mental health services, such as Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE; a therapy designed to help clients face fears related to a traumatic event), to veterans with limited access to care. A secondary aim is to determine if therapy delivered by telemedicine affects the quality of care in terms of clinical outcomes and the quality of patient-therapist interaction. A tertiary aim is to examine whether results from neuropsychological testing predict treatment outcomes.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01158001

Run by

Veterans Medical Research Foundation

People needed

211

Starts

2009-05-01

Expected to finish

2012-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2015-06-24

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Primary diagnosis of chronic PTSD due to combat; comorbid mood and anxiety disorders are expected, and will be permitted (to maximize generalizability) if PTSD symptoms are judged to be predominant based on primacy and severity of symptoms
• Age 18 or older
• English literacy

You may not qualify if…

• Unmanaged psychosis or manic episodes in past year
• Concurrent psychotherapies targeting PTSD or depression or that entail exposure therapy [veterans who are engaged in treatment for non-PTSD symptoms (e.g., 12-step programs for substance problems) will be eligible]
• Severe cardiovascular or respiratory disease that would make it difficult to ensure regular attendance at psychotherapy sessions
• Probable dementia; OR
• Head trauma resulting in loss of consciousness longer than 20 minutes. Potential participants who have had changes in the type and dosage of psychotropic medications in the preceding two months will be asked to wait until their medication regimen has stabilized to minimize treatment confounds.

Where it is running

• VA San Diego Healthcare System — San Diego, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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