Mindfulness and Present Centered Therapies for PTSD: Efficacy and Mechanisms

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

In brief

This project will study whether a new therapy that includes the practice of forms of meditation is helpful for combat veterans returning from deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan suffering with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "Mindfulness meditation" cultivates present-focused, non-judgmental attention to ones body, emotions, and thoughts, and is proposed to lead to a greater sense of well-being and acceptance and better tolerance of painful and distressing emotions. "Compassion" and "loving-kindness" meditations help stabilize positive emotions like love and compassion, and may also be helpful for chronic pain, and possibly depression and PTSD. This study will compare a 16 week psychotherapy group for PTSD involving Mindfulness and Self-compassion meditation, with a more standard form of group psychotherapy known as "Present-centered group therapy". Both therapies will be conducted at the VA Ann Arbor PTSD clinic by VA psychotherapists. (The study is also approved by the IRB of the VA Ann Arbor). Combat veterans will be randomly assigned to either the Meditation or the standard group psychotherapy. All patients will also receive fMRI brain scans before and after the therapy, as well as assessment interviews before, at 8 weeks, and immediately post-therapy, and at 3 mo and 6 mo follow-ups. Saliva cortisol and measures of attention will also be obtained at each assessment.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT01347749
Run by
University of Michigan
People needed
65
Starts
2011-03-01
Expected to finish
2013-11-01
Last updated by the study team
2019-11-06

Who can join

Age: 21 and older, up to 50. Sex: male. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

You may not qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.