Post-Traumatic Growth Following Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy Versus SSRIs in Patients With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

May 3, 2026 updated by: Asad Ullah Jan

Post-Traumatic Growth Following Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy Versus SSRIs in Patients With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial investigates the comparative effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in fostering post-traumatic growth among patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants will be randomized to receive either EMDR therapy or standard SSRI pharmacotherapy. The primary objective is to evaluate the extent of psychological growth and recovery achieved through each intervention, aiming to guide future therapeutic strategies for PTSD.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

130

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

  • Pakistan
    • KPK
      • Nowshera, KPK, Pakistan, 25770
        • Combined Military Hospital
      • Nowshera, KPK, Pakistan, 25770
        • Department of Psychiatry, Combined Military Hospital Nowshera

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Clinical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) based on DSM-5 criteria

Willingness to participate and provide informed consent

Ability to comply with study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

Current diagnosis of psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or severe major depressive episode with psychotic features

Active substance use disorder within the past 6 months

Severe cognitive impairment or inability to complete study assessments

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: EMDR
EMDR therapy
Behavioral: EMDR
Participants will receive structured EMDR therapy sessions conducted by trained therapists following standard EMDR protocols. Sessions will occur weekly over a 6 week period.
Active Comparator: SSRIs
Acting as control group
Drug: SSRIs
Participants will receive pharmacotherapy with an SSRI prescribed according to standard clinical guidelines for PTSD, monitored by a psychiatrist over a 6-week period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) measured by Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI)
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Change in PTGI total score from baseline to 6 weeks.
6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PTSD symptom severity measured by PTSD Checklist
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Change in PTSD Checklist total score from baseline to 6 weeks.
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Asad Ullah Jan

Collaborators

CMH Nowshera

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 (Actual)

May 6, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 26, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 26, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

May 4, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CMHNSR-REF-15

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Privacy concerns and confidentiality protections for participants limit the feasibility of public data sharing.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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