Intensive Treatment Versus Standard Weekly Prolonged Exposure for Adults With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

In brief

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare a novel, massed treatment format of prolonged exposure to gold standard trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (weekly delivered prolonged exposure) for post-traumatic stress disorder. The objective with this study is to investigate efficacy, mechanisms of change and cost effectiveness of intensive prolonged exposure (I-PE) in regular Swedish psychiatric care. Adult patients with post-traumatic stress disorder will be randomly assigned to receive either gold standard prolonged exposure weekly for 15 weeks or 5 days of intensive treatment with the addition of three booster sessions dispersed 1, 2 and 4 weeks after completion of the massed treatment period. Qualitative interviews will be conducted with therapists to explore their experiences of delivering intensive treatment for PTSD, with particular focus on perceived benefits and challenges, clinical processes, patient engagement, and the impact of the intensive format on therapeutic work.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05934175

Run by

Karolinska Institutet

People needed

140

Starts

2023-09-04

Expected to finish

2027-06-20

Last updated by the study team

2026-04-07

Who can join

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

You may qualify if…

• 18 years of age or above,
• Primary PTSD diagnosis
• Fluent in Swedish
• Sign informed consent
• Able to attend either I-PE or 15 weekly sessions of PE

You may not qualify if…

• Initiation or adjustment of any psychotropic medication within the last 4 weeks prior to commencement of treatment
• Serious mental health symptoms, such as mania, psychosis, alcohol, or substance use disorders or current suicide risk warranting immediate clinical attention
• Ongoing evidence-based trauma-focused psychological treatment
• Ongoing trauma-related threat (e.g. living with a violent spouse)

Where it is running

• Traumaprogrammet, Psykiatri Sydväst — Stockholm, Sweden (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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