The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program to the more standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Prolonged Exposure (CBT-PE) in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in war Veterans over a three month treatment period.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and debilitating anxiety condition that affects up to 20% of war Veterans. PTSD is often a chronic problem for Veterans, affecting reintegration into society, family and marital relationships, sleep, employment stability, substance abuse rates, and risk for depression and suicide, among other areas. Although several effective therapies exist to treat PTSD, research shows that up to half of patients completing these treatments continue to have elevated symptoms indicating the important need for developing additional treatment options. In the current trial, we propose to test one such new treatment, specifically a meditation practice known as Transcendental Meditation. The Transcendental Meditation (TM) program will be compared to one of the best and most standard of PTSD therapies (Prolonged Exposure therapy), and a educational control group. This study will recruit 210 War Veterans clinically diagnosed with PTSD from the San Diego VA Healthcare System over a 4 year study period. The intervention period will be 3 months. Study participants will be randomized equally to one of three study groups, either 1. Transcendental Meditation (TM) or 2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Prolonged Exposure (CBT-PE) or 3. Educational control group. The primary outcome will be scores on the Clinically Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Secondary outcomes will includes scores on PTSD symptoms including depression, anger, mood disturbance and quality of life. Behavioral or lifestyle factors will also be measured including smoking, alcohol, and non-described drug usage along with compliance with each treatment. Physiological markers of stress and disease risk will include cortisol, blood pressure, inflammatory markers and body mass. If successful, these research findings will serve to provide key data on the feasibility and efficacy of the TM program as an alternative therapy for PTSD. The results will serve to inform policy decisions on the study and application of standardized and validated stress reduction programs in veteran populations.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
200
A standard 7 step course will be offered including an introductory and preparatory lectures, personal one-on-one instruction with a certified TM teacher followed by 3 consecutive days of classes on how to meditate correctly and effortlessly, how to understand mechanisms of stress release and sequential development to higher levels of human consciousness and enjoying ones full potential. Followup meetings will provide checking of TM practice, sharing of group experiences with the TM practice and knowledge to motivate and inspire continued regularity with the practice. The certified TM instructor will have experience with PTSD in this veteran population.
Prolonged exposure therapy, a specific form of cognitive behavioral therapy, is considered the standard psychotherapy treatment for PTSD . The delivery of PE will be by a trained study therapist. There will be 16 individual sessions provided to each participant. Homework will include relaxation and breathing exercises and anxiety diaries.
San Diego VA Healthcare System
La Jolla, California, United States
Clinically Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)
This scale is currently the gold standard for assessing the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using a face-to-face interview with the patient and a professionally trained medical/psychiatric administrator.
Time frame: 3 months
Self-Report Symptoms of PTSD
The PTSD Checklist- Military version (PCL-M) will assess PTSD symptoms in response to stressful military experiences. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 will be used to evaluate clinical depression. The Profile of Mood States (POMS - will be used to evaluate total mood disturbance (TMD) main scale and tension/anxiety, depression/dejection, and anger/hostility subscales. The Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) will be used to evaluate level of social support. The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form will used to assess overall quality of life.
Time frame: 3 months
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This group will receive group-administered didactic health education specific to the PTSD veterans population. It will include emphasis on healthy lifestyle changes to promote more positive mental and physical health. The classes will be matched with the TM and PE interventions to control for time, instructor attention and other non-specific factors.