Evaluating Shared Decision Making to Improve PTSD Treatment for Active Duty Military Members Comparing Different Therapies and Session Frequencies

What this Trial Is About

This research focuses on active duty military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD, aiming to understand how Shared Decision Making SDM affects treatment engagement, retention, and outcomes. The study evaluates how patient characteristics and preferences relate to starting and completing PTSD treatments and examines the impact of SDM on symptom reduction compared to prior trials. The research is designed as a partially randomized preference trial to match patients to evidence-based therapies using SDM. Participants receive one of three cognitive behavioral therapy types for PTSD Prolonged Exposure PE Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy CPT, or Written Exposure Therapy WET. Each therapy is delivered either in a massed daily or spaced weekly format, with up to 24 sessions for PE and CPT, and up to 7 sessions for WET. The study includes a pre-treatment SDM session to determine patient preferences for therapy type, session frequency, and treatment delivery. During the study, participants undergo assessments including the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist PCL-5 and other measures of psychosocial functioning, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and trauma-related cognitions from baseline through treatment and follow-up up to seven months. Researchers monitor treatment initiation, session completion, and symptom changes to evaluate the effectiveness of SDM in improving PTSD care. The total participation duration varies depending on treatment progress and selected therapy.

Shared Decision Making in PTSD Treatment