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Comparing Two Moral Injury Treatments
Sponsor: VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Summary
Purpose of this study: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of two psychological treatments for moral injury: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Moral Injury and Present Centered Therapy for Moral Injury. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Determine the efficacy of ACT-MI for building functional recovery among 180 warzone deployed Veterans. 2. Identify barriers and facilitators to implementing ACT-MI in VA mental health clinics or a national telehealth hub in preparation for future dissemination efforts. Participants will be asked to: * Complete a two to two and a half hour initial assessment session online using videoconferencing. Participants will be asked to complete surveys and questionnaires. * Be randomized to either ACT-MI or PCT-MI * Meet with the study clinicians for 15 virtual outpatient sessions (12-group and 3-individual sessions). * Complete a post-treatment assessment session offered online using videoconferencing within one week of treatment completion to complete surveys and questionnaires. * Complete one- and three-month follow-up assessments offered online using videoconferencing to complete surveys and questionnaires.
Official title: Comparing Two Moral Injury Treatments: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Moral Injury and Present Centered Therapy for Moral Injury
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 89 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
180
Start Date
2026-08
Completion Date
2030-09
Last Updated
2026-07-17
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Moral Injury (ACT-MI)
ACT-MI is a 15-week hybrid group (12, 90-minute group sessions) and individual (3, 30-minute case conceptualization sessions) psychotherapy offered over telehealth. The primary goal of the clinician delivering ACT-MI is to help individuals impacted by moral injury live meaningful lives even in the presence of moral pain. This means learning to experience moral pain and connecting with values simultaneously.
Present Centered Therapy for Moral Injury (PCT-MI)
PCT-MI is a 15-week hybrid group (12, 90-min sessions) and individual (3, 30-min sessions) psychotherapy offered over telehealth. PCT was developed as an active control in a PTSD Prolonged Exposure trial, including psychoeducation and problem-solving as the primary interventions. PCT has been used in multiple clinical trials as an active control condition for PTSD. Additionally, PCT has been used as a control condition in moral injury efficacy trials for interventions like Adaptive Disclosure and Building Spiritual Strength. However, these comparison conditions focused on the treatment of PTSD rather than moral injury. The proposed PCT-MI comparison condition has been adapted to focus specifically on moral injury. PCT-MI includes psychoeducation about moral injury and related problems and individual case conceptualization sessions that are theoretically coherent with the process-based framework and nonspecific therapeutic factors central to PCT and present in most psychotherapies.
Locations (1)
Rocky Mountain VA Regional Medical Center
Aurora, Colorado, United States