The goal of this project is to determine if a 6-session psychotherapy intervention will help Veterans feel less deployment-related guilt and less distress related to their guilt. Half of the participants will receive the guilt focused intervention and half will receive a supportive intervention. A supplemental pilot study added in FY2021 will examine the intervention for pandemic-related guilt events.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
145
Trauma focused therapy
Supportive therapy
VA San Diego Healthcare System
San Diego, California, United States
National Center for PTSD
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
VA Providence Medical Center
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Trauma Related Guilt Inventory - Guilt Severity
Change in Trauma Related Guilt Inventory - Guilt Severity Subscale Min score = 0, max score = 4 (score = mean of all items in subscale) higher scores = greater trauma related guilt severity
Time frame: baseline to 8 months
Change in Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale - 5 (CAPS-5)
min = 0, max = 80 higher scores = more severe PTSD
Time frame: baseline to 8 months
Change in Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9)
The PHQ-9 measures severity of depression symptoms. Scores range 0 - 27 higher scores = more severe depression
Time frame: baseline to 8 months
Change in Internalized Shame Scale
change in Internalized Shame Scale scores range 0 to 120 higher scores = greater internalized shame
Time frame: baseline to 8-month follow-up
Change in World Health Organization Quality of Life - Brief
Change in World Health Organization Quality of Life - Brief - score range = 0-100 higher scores = better quality of life
Time frame: baseline to 8 months
Change in Brief Symptom Inventory-18
Change in Brief Symptom Inventory-18, a measure of depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms score range = 0 - 72 higher scores = greater distress
Time frame: baseline to 8 months
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