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Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on PTSD-CVD Link
Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
Summary
This is a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a first-line treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Cognitive Processing Therapy; CPT) versus waitlist control on mechanisms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Further, this study will test the hypothesis that CPT reduces CVD risk through its effects on inflammation and autonomic function and that these changes are driven by changes in stress-related neural activity (SNA)
Official title: Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Neural, Inflammatory, & Autonomic Markers in a Sample With PTSD and Cardiovascular Risk: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 65 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
30
Start Date
2023-07-01
Completion Date
2026-07-01
Last Updated
2025-09-25
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Cognitive processing therapy
The active intervention is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a gold-standard cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD. The CPT intervention consists of 12 60-minute sessions teaching skills to challenge trauma-relevant cognitions that are distorted or unhelpful. Trauma-relevant cognitions fall into five themes that are highlighted during treatment: safety, trust, power/control, esteem, and intimacy. The empirical base for CPT is strong with numerous studies demonstrating that it results in significant reduction of PTSD symptoms regardless of trauma type and that it is 89% more effective than control treatment. CPT has been successfully implemented in virtual formats with comparable efficacy levels to that of in-person CPT. CPT sessions for this study will be conducted virtually by a CPT-trained clinician
Locations (1)
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States