Mind-Body Skills Groups for the Treatment of War Zone Stress in Military and Veteran Populations

January 27, 2014 updated by: James S. Gordon, M.D., The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

A Randomized Controlled Study of Mind-Body Skills Groups for Treatment of War Zone Stress in Military and Veteran Populations

The purpose of this study is to determine whether participation in mind-body skills groups by veterans who have experienced a stressful war-related situation and have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), will improve symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety, reduce anger, improve quality of life, quality of sleep and result in posttraumatic growth (a positive change that people can experience when they have been in a traumatic situation).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The study will be a randomized controlled study where participants will be randomly selected to either participate in the mind-body skills program and to answer questionnaires before and after the program and again 6 months later or, if they are not randomized to the mind-body skills group program, they will answer the questionnaires during the same time periods without participating in the program. Both groups will also continue their medical treatment as usual. The mind-body skills group intervention consists of groups of 8-10 participants. Two formats will be offered. (1) A 2 hour group session once a week for 10 weeks or (2) Weekend groups which will be run on alternating Saturdays, with a 2 hour session in the morning and another 2 hour session in the afternoon. The groups will be run for a total of 5 Saturday sessions. Additional "reunion" groups will be held at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months in order to reinforce skills and to provide continuing social support.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

108

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Louisiana
      • New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, 70112
        • Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • having experienced a deployment-related criterion A stressor and reporting post deployment stress symptoms which include: clinically diagnosed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or subthreshold PTSD symptoms
  • comorbid conditions may also include mild traumatic brain injury, or clinically significant levels of depression or anxiety.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current uncontrolled psychotic or bipolar disorder
  • significant cognitive impairment
  • moderate or severe TBI
  • substance dependence
  • suicidal or homicidal ideation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Standard Treatment
Other: Standard Treatment
May include individual or group psychotherapy consisting of cognitive behavioral therapy or present-centered (i.e. unrelated to mindfulness) psychotherapy as well as medication management. Medications for depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders are the most commonly used in standard treatment.
Experimental: Mind-Body Skills Groups
Behavioral: Mind-Body Skills Groups
The mind-body skills group program teaches participants how to do meditation, guided imagery, breathing techniques, and biofeedback. These mind-body techniques are taught and practiced in small groups of 8 to 10 people and also contain an element of social support.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PTSD checklist - military version
Time Frame: Baseline; 12 weeks; 20 weeks
The PTSD checklist contains 17 items corresponding to the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Past month symptom severity is indicated using a 5 point scale.
Baseline; 12 weeks; 20 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2
Time Frame: Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
This is a 57 item consisting of a 4 point scale that measures the intensity of anger as an emotional state at a particular time (State Anger) and how often angry feelings are experienced over time as a personality trait (Trait Anger). There are 4 additional subscales which measure the outward expression of anger (Anger Expression-Out), holding or suppressing angry feelings (Anger Expression-In); controlling angry feelings by preventing the outward expression of anger (Anger Control-Out); and controlling anger feeling by calming down (Anger Control-In)
Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
Time Frame: Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
This 9 item questionnaire using a 4 point scale measures seven areas of sleep: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual seep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction.
Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9
Time Frame: Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is a 9 item self-report measure and is a widely used screening tool for depression.
Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Time Frame: Baseline; 12 weeks; 20 weeks
The State anxiety subscale will be used. It has 20 questions and uses a 4 point scale.
Baseline; 12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory
Time Frame: Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory measures positive change that people can experience when they have been in a traumatic situation. It is a 21 item self report scale that includes five subscales: relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual challenge, and appreciation of life.
Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form SF-36
Time Frame: Baseline; 12 weeks; 20 weeks
The SF-36 has 36 questions and measures functional status in eight dimensions: physical functioning, social functioning, role functioning-physical, role functioning-emotional, vitality, mental health, bodily pain, and general health perception.
Baseline; 12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Inventory of Functional Impairment
Time Frame: Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks
The Inventory of Functional Impairment is an 87-item self-report measure designed to assess multiple dimensions of functional impairment experienced by active duty service members and veterans.
Baseline;12 weeks; 20 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Collaborators

U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command
Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 24, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

March 25, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 29, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2014

Last Verified

January 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 08144040

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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