UCLA Couples Counseling for Combat Veterans (CCCV)

UCLA Welcome Back Veterans Family Resilience Center Couples Counseling for Combat Veterans

A pilot intervention of an existing intervention adapted for the returning warfighter population: a couples treatment for PTSD, Structured Approach Therapy (SAT), which emphasizes reducing the PTSD avoidance/numbing symptoms that are corrosive in families.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: PTSD; Recent Era Combat Veteran; Couples Communication
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Structured Approach Therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • UCLA Semel Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• OIF/OEF/ OND veteran with at least one deployment
• In a cohabitating relationship for 6 months or longer
• Cohabitating 50% of the time or more
• Diagnosed with PTSD or meets the diagnosis criteria for PTSD as related to deployment experience (CAPS)
• Ability to make weekly appointments
• Willingness to commit to change

Exclusion Criteria:

• Receiving an evidence-based treatment for PTSD within the past 6 months
• Receiving couples therapy within the last 6 months
• Moderate or excessive physical violence within the past 3 months (CTS)
• Alcohol/substance dependence (SCID)
• Known domestic violence/abuse (CTS)
• Symptoms of psychosis within the past 3 months
• Unstable psychiatric medicine usage or on regimen less than 3 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Waitlisted Intervention; Couple will be consented, assessed and randomized to a waitlist of 4 months. The couple will be reassessed at 8 weeks and prior to initiating intervention.	Behavioral: Structured Approach Therapy; The SAT treatment is provided in 12 weekly 50-minute sessions and is fully manualized. First, couple-based exposure techniques are used to address anxiety about intimacy, increasing the traumatized person's ability to engage in social and relational behaviors that promote bonding and satisfaction. Second, as anxiety decreases, couple-based techniques are also used to increase the positive experiences the couple is having. These activities expose the traumatized person to positive feelings instead of anxiety, so that he/she may become desensitized to the anxiety caused by the closeness, and more comfortable engaging in intimate behaviors.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Immediate Intervention; Eligible couples who are randomized to immediate intervention will begin sessions with a trained interventionist within weeks of consent and initial assessments	Behavioral: Structured Approach Therapy; The SAT treatment is provided in 12 weekly 50-minute sessions and is fully manualized. First, couple-based exposure techniques are used to address anxiety about intimacy, increasing the traumatized person's ability to engage in social and relational behaviors that promote bonding and satisfaction. Second, as anxiety decreases, couple-based techniques are also used to increase the positive experiences the couple is having. These activities expose the traumatized person to positive feelings instead of anxiety, so that he/she may become desensitized to the anxiety caused by the closeness, and more comfortable engaging in intimate behaviors.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Improved couples communication as measured by standardized assessments	4-6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles
• Collaborators: VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shrley M Glynn, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): November 1, 2013
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): November 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 21, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 21, 2012
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): June 25, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): November 3, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2022
• Last Verified: October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: PTSD; Trauma; Couples; OEF; OIF; Combat Veteran; Warfighter; OND; Structured Approach Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 11-003109