An Adjunctive Family Intervention for Individual Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

VA Office of Research and Development40 enrolled

Overview

This study aims to test a brief family intervention (the BFI) to enhance individually-delivered PTSD treatment for Veterans.

The investigators will enroll pairs of Veterans and one adult family member who lives with them. Veterans will be beginning a course of PTSD-focused treatment at the Boston VA; Veterans' treatment will not be limited or changed by their participation in this study. Family members will receive or not receive (depending on which Phase of the study they are recruited in) the BFI. The BFI consists of 2 sessions in which the family member meets one-on-one with a clinician to discuss PTSD, PTSD treatment, and how families can be most helpful to patients in treatment. Veterans and family members will also be interviewed about their opinions and experiences regarding family-inclusive treatment for PTSD. Clinicians will be recruited and enrolled to obtain their information and feedback (via qualitative interviews), and to deliver the intervention in Phase II.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Posttraumatic Neuroses

Interventions

Brief Family InterventionBEHAVIORAL

Two 50-minute sessions aimed at helping family members be most supportive to their loved one's treatment goals.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Veterans must have a diagnosis of PTSD and be beginning a course of Prolonged Exposure (PE) or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) at the Boston VA. * Must also have an eligible family member who is willing to participate. Exclusion Criteria: * Current diagnosis of unstable bipolar disorder, substance dependence, past or present psychosis, or organic mental disorder * Clear and current suicidal risk * Current participation in family/couples therapy

Locations (1)

VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, 5th Edition

A measure of PTSD severity and diagnostic status. Min value = 0, max value = 80. Higher scores mean worse outcome.

Time frame: 16 weeks

Treatment Attendance/Dropout

A measure of Veterans' treatment attendance or premature dropout. Data represents the Veterans who dropped out of their standard-care PTSD treatment.

Time frame: 16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Significant Others' Responses to Trauma Scale (SORTS)

A measure of self-reported family accommodation of PTSD symptoms. Min value = 0, max value = 112. Higher scores mean worse outcome.

Time frame: 16 weeks

Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale

A measure of relationship quality. Min value = 0, max value = 69. Higher scores mean better outcome.

Time frame: 16 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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