Randomized Clinical Trial of Imagery Rescripting Treatment In Veterans With Trauma-Related Nightmares And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Not Applicable

Terminated

• Conditions: Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Sleep Disorders
• Interventions: Behavioral: Veteran Nightmare Treatment; Behavioral: Treatment-as-usual

• Registration Number: NCT00837109
• Lead Sponsor: US Department of Veterans Affairs

Brief Summary

Research shows that symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are particularly high in veterans, and that trauma-related nightmares and sleep disturbances are common in veterans with PTSD. This is of concern because people with these problems will often use unhealthy ways of coping. Although trauma-related nightmares and difficulty sleeping are highly distressing, there are helpful treatments that do not involve taking medication. One of these treatments teaches specific skills to help people improve their sleep habits and to change their nightmares so that they are less upsetting. This treatment can be very helpful and research shows that people experience decreases in the frequency and severity of their nightmares, decreased symptoms of depression and PTSD, and improved sleep quality and quantity after completing treatment. However, because this treatment has only been studied with civilians, it is not clear how well this treatment works for veterans.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2009-02
• Study First Submitted: 2009-02-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2009-02-03
• Study First Posted: 2009-02-05
• Primary Completion: 2010-06
• Study Completion: 2010-06
• Status Verified: 2010-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2010-09-28
• Last Update Posted: 2010-09-29

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: TERMINATED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 50

Inclusion Criteria

Participants will be:

1. patients at the VA in the Trauma Recovery Program;
2. English-speaking;
3. reporting at least one Posttraumatic Nightmare in the past week (due to any type of trauma);
4. have an existing PTSD International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM); and
5. consenting to be randomized into treatment.

In addition, patients must agree to allow their assessment and therapy sessions to be video/audiotaped for the purposes of supervision and treatment integrity ratings. Participants receiving other forms of group or individual psychotherapy and/or psychotropic medication are eligible for the nightmare treatment condition of the study, provided that those interventions do not specifically target nightmares or PTSD. Thus, the study interventions will be in addition to standard care, except as indicated above.

Exclusion Criteria

Patients

1. with current active suicidal/homicidal ideation and intent;
2. with current substance dependence;
3. a diagnosis of bipolar or psychosis; 4) prescribed the medication Prazosin (a psychotropic medication for the treatment of nightmares).

Patients in the nightmare treatment condition of the study will also be excluded if they are actively participating in another psychosocial treatment directly addressing their PTSD symptoms. Patients will not be excluded if they are taking psychotropic medication (except for Prazosin) and may continue to take their medication as prescribed throughout the study.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
1	Veteran Nightmare Treatment	Imagery Rescripting Nightmare Treatment
2	Treatment-as-usual	Treatment-as-usual in the Trauma Recovery Program

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Scale-Self-Report (PSS-SR), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)	Baseline, prior to each session, post-assessment, 3-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI)	Baseline, post-assessment, 3-month follow-up
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-Addendum for PTSD (PSQI),	Baseline, post-assessment, 3-month follow-up
Trauma Related Nightmare Survey (TRNS)	Baseline, post-assessment, 3-month follow-up
Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)	Baseline, post-assessment, 3-month follow-up
Modules of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)	Baseline
Treatment Evaluation Inventory (TEI)	Post-assessment
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ)	Post-assessment

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (152); 🇺🇸 Houston, Texas, United States