Impact of VVV Group for Veterans With SMI

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Psychotic Disorders; Veterans
• Interventions: Behavioral: Support group; Behavioral: Healthy Lifestyles

• Registration Number: NCT05562674
• Lead Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development

Brief Summary

Veterans with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) struggle with social integration - participation in work, housing, and citizenship - due to symptoms, stigma, and psychosocial challenges. Despite considerable VA efforts to provide mental health care to Veterans with SMI, programs that promote social integration are lacking. Veterans with SMI are at especially high risk for poor social integration and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project addresses this need with a group-based, peer specialist (PS) co-facilitated psychosocial intervention for Veterans with SMI, called "Veteran Voices and Visions" (VVV). VVV targets Veterans with SMI who experience psychosis, a group particularly in need of support with social integration. Virtual VVV groups are co-led by VA mental health clinicians (MHCs) and PSs via online video conference. The approach facilitates group cohesion around and normalization of the common psychotic symptoms of SMI: hallucinations, delusions, and social isolation. This intervention has the potential to create and foster a supportive community that improves the social integration of participants by reducing their distress and self-stigma, and increasing self-efficacy.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-09-27
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-09-27
• Study First Posted: 2022-10-03
• Study Start: 2024-03-18
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Primary Completion: 2025-03-01
• Study Completion: 2025-03-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-21
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-26

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 38

Inclusion Criteria

• DSM 5 diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar with psychosis, depression with psychosis, unspecified psychosis

Exclusion Criteria

• Substance-induced psychosis,
• clinically significant neurological disease,
• history of serious head injury with loss of consciousness > 1 hour.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Veteran Voices & Visions (VVV)	Support group	This is the experimental condition, testing the manual the investigators have developed.
Healthy Lifestyles	Healthy Lifestyles	This is the control condition, matched for location, format, degree of interaction, and duration.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale (PSYRATS-AHS)	12 weeks after the initiation of the intervention.	PSYRATS-AHS is an 11-item scale which assesses the frequency, duration, severity, loudness, location, negative content, and controllability of voices, intensity of distress, and beliefs about origin of voices and disruptiveness. Range of score is 0-44. The investigators will be assessing for within-subject change. Any decrease in overall score is indicative of decreased distress.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA; 🇺🇸 West Los Angeles, California, United States