Enhanced Cognitive Rehabilitation to Treat Comorbid TBI and PTSD

Abstract

This study is a randomized trial of a hybrid treatment for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with a history of mild to moderate TBI (mTBI) and PTSD. Emotional symptoms are likely a main cause of the persistence of post-concussive symptoms while thinking problems and emotional control problems associated with mTBI can impede recovery from PTSD. However, there is no PTSD treatment specifically designed to accommodate the difficulties with attention, memory, and problem solving that patients with TBI may have. Therefore, this study integrates therapeutic approaches and tests a modification of cognitive processing therapy (CPT), an empirically supported treatment for PTSD, in which CPT is enhanced with compensatory cognitive rehabilitation principles. The enhanced CPT, called SMART-CPT is being compared to standard CPT in a group of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with a history of both mTBI and PTSD. Half of the participants are randomly assigned to receive standard CPT and half to receive SMART-CPT. This year was dedicated recruitment, enrollment, and treatment, with 94 Veterans enrolled and 45 who have completed all treatment sessions, to date.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2015
Accession Number
AD1002966

Entities

People

  • Amy J. Jak

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Attrition
  • Biomedical Research
  • Brain Injuries
  • Cognition
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Head Injuries
  • Mental Health
  • Recovery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Standards
  • Therapy
  • Thinking

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

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