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Adapting the Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression Therapy to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence and Promote Psychosocial Recovery in Veteran Couples (MERA-C)
Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Summary
This study will address a pressing unmet need for effective and accessible treatment for Veteran couples with intimate partner violence (IPV). The primary objective is to adapt a brief intervention originally developed to reduce general aggression among individual Veterans with PTSD symptoms (Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression; MERA) to reduce IPV among Veteran couples. First, the investigators will conduct stakeholder interviews to inform the content, dose, and timing of the adapted MERA-Couples manual (MERA-C). Second, the investigators will examine the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of MERA-C through a single-arm feasibility trial among 10 Veteran couples with IPV. Finally, the investigators will conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial (N= 60 couples) to examine the preliminary within- and between-couple effects of MERA-C versus MERA on (1) participant acceptability and retention and (2) physical and psychological IPV occurrence; emotion regulation; relationship functioning; and psychosocial functioning from pre- to post-treatment and at 1-month follow-up.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
120
Start Date
2027-01-01
Completion Date
2030-09-30
Last Updated
2026-08-06
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression- Couples
4 weekly dyadic/couples therapy sessions of 45-60 minutes each.
Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression
4 weekly individual therapy sessions of 45-60 minutes each.
Locations (1)
Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC
Charleston, South Carolina, United States