Comparing Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy to Prolonged Exposure in the Treatment of Soldiers with PTSD

Abstract

This randomized, single blind study is evaluating the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) by comparing it to prolonged exposure therapy (PE) and a waitlist (WL) group in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in active duty (AD) Soldiers with combat-related trauma. During the first year, the study team developed the infrastructure to implement the trial including personnel hiring and training, process development to identify, screen, and enroll participants, completion of study-related VR Iraq scenarios, and research protocol development. During the second year, recruitment and enrollment of soldiers for study participation began, and by the end of year two 145 referrals for treatment had been received, 84 subjects consented to study participation and 45 met all of the inclusion and none of the exclusion criteria and were randomized to treatment. During the third year, recruitment and enrollment of participants continued with an additional 100 referrals for treatment received, 72 subjects consented to study participation and 39 randomized to one of the 3 arms of the study, VR, PE or WL. During year 4, the period covered in this report, 119 referrals have been received, 72 participants consented to study participation and 43 met all the inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria and were randomized.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA567846

Entities

People

  • Albert Rizzo
  • Greg Reger
  • Gregory Gahm
  • Kevin Holloway
  • Kimberlee Zetocha
  • Nancy A. Skopp
  • Patricia Koenen-woods

Organizations

  • Geneva Foundation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Biomedical Research
  • Combat Injuries
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Health Services
  • Inclusions
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Medical Personnel
  • Reliability
  • Therapy
  • Training
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Virtual Reality

Readers

  • Clinical Trial Research.
  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.