Comparison of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Dialogical Exposure Therapy (DET) for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Comparison of a Gestalt-based Approach to PTSD Therapy With Cognitive Processing Therapy

This study aims to compare two active psychological treatments for PTSD. One is an established therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) which operates as a control condition for a newly developed intervention, an integrative Gestalt-based trauma therapy, Dialogical Exposure Therapy (DET). There is no inactive control condition. We expect the two therapies to perform on a similar level, which would constitute evidence for the efficacy of DET.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Dialogical exposure therapy; Behavioral: Cognitive Processing Therapy (German Adaptation)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 150
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Munich, Germany, 80802
    • LS für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie

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:

• main diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder
• time since trauma is at least three months

Exclusion Criteria:

• acute suicidal ideation
• severe personality pathology
• substance dependence
• early childhood trauma (e.g. child sexual abuse)
• history of psychosis
• dissociative identity disorder
• neurological impairment (e.g. craniocerebral injury with functional impairment)
• severe pre-traumatic depression
• ongoing psychotherapy
• lack of motivation
• lack of German language skills

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Dialogical exposure therapy; Psychotherapy based on a manual integrating Gestalt principles with cognitive-behavioral techniques.	Behavioral: Dialogical exposure therapy; This 24-session treatment protocol includes cognitive-behavioral components integrated with a frame based on gestalt principles. There are four phases, safety, stabilization, confrontation and integration.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Cognitive Processing Therapy; Cognitive Processing Therapy, a cognitive behavioral psychotherapy for PTSD patients. Based on a German manual adapted from Resick and Schnicke, 1993.	Behavioral: Cognitive Processing Therapy (German Adaptation); This is a German adaptation of Cognitive Processing Therapy, developed by Prof. P. A. Resick. This intervention includes cognitive restructuring, a focus on the traumatic memory and a focus on issues that are likely to be problematic in traumatized individuals.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PTBS Symptom Severity	Even though participants are assessed by a clinical interview before entering the study, the primary outcome measure is the PDS which is applied before and after treatment as well as at 6-month follow-up.	change from pretreatment to posttreatment (planned duration 12 weeks on average) to follow-up (six months after posttreatment)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PTSD Symptom change (IES-R)	The IES-R is a short instrument for the measurement of PTSD symptom severity. In this study, the IES-R is applied before every session in order to measure symptom change over the time of the therapy.	change from pretreatment to posttreatment (planned duration 12 weeks on average) to follow-up (six months after posttreatment). Also measured at each session (up to 24 time points between pre- and posttreatment).

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Brief Symptom Inventory	The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) is a measure of general psychological distress.	change from pretreatment to posttreatment (planned duration 12 weeks on average) to follow-up (six months after posttreatment)
Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP)	The IIP is a widely used instrument to measure interpersonal distress.	change from pretreatment to posttreatment (planned duration 12 weeks on average) to follow-up (six months after posttreatment)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Willi Butollo, Prof., Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2002
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2011
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): April 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 18, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 24, 2012
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): September 26, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): September 26, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 24, 2012
• Last Verified: September 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: PTSD; randomized trial; psychotherapy; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; gestalt
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: Gestalt therapy for PTSD