If you know any active-duty military personnel or veterans from the U.S.-led conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan with current PTSD symptoms who are between the ages of 18 and 65, they may be eligible to participate in a free, therapist-supported, web-based study of prolonged exposure treatment for PTSD through the STRONG STAR consortium.
“The South Texas Research Organizational Network Guiding Studies on Trauma and Resistance, or STRONG STAR, is a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research consortium funded by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and evaluate the most effective early interventions possible for the detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions in active-duty military personnel and recently discharged veterans.”
I attended the most recent STRONG STAR combat PTSD conference in San Antonio, where the consortium is based, and heard firsthand from the more than 125 researchers and clinicians conducting a range of exploratory and clinical research, along with preclinical trials, to test novel ways of effectively treating PTSD in military populations.
As you may know, PTSD treatments proven effective in the civilian sector haven’t always translated as effectively with military personnel and veterans suffering from PTSD. Carmen McLean, PhD, based at the VA’s National Center for PTSD, is lead investigator on this new study through STRONG STAR to test a nine-week, web-based treatment protocol. This study is recommended for military personnel or veterans with PTSD who are not already in care or who are not responding well to treatment. The study includes 10 self-directed sessions (lasting about an hour each) and three calls with a therapist. Military personnel interested in participating in the study may email McLean for more information.
While you’re on the STRONG STAR website, check out its research briefs for clinicians on a variety of PTSD topics, including the role of ketamine in treatment, approaches for co-occurring PTSD and sleep disorders, decreasing aggression in veterans with PTSD, transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for combat-related PTSD, and results of a clinical trial for veterans with PTSD and alcohol problems.
About the author
Heather O'Beirne Kelly, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and APA's first director of military and veterans health policy. Watch this space for regular updates on issues ranging from protecting the VA's integrated care system, to advocating for more attention to military sexual assault prevention, to encouraging more systematic training on evidence-based treatments.