STRONG STAR consortium leads fight against combat-related PTSD

Fort Cavazos Sentinel
Jun 05, 2025

During PTSD Awareness Month, this article in the Fort Cavazos Sentinel highlights the longstanding collaboration between the STRONG STAR Consortium and the C.R. Darnall Army Medical Center (CRDAMC) at Fort Cavazos to advance the care and treatment of service members with PTSD and other psychological health issues.

“The STRONG STAR team’s aim is to improve the effectiveness, as well as applicability, of existing treatment methods for our warfighters, to ensure that they not only get better care now, but also reap benefits in the future as a direct result of these studies,” noted Col. Amit Gupta, CRDAMC and Fort Cavazos director of psychological health, about the integration of cutting-edge science into daily clinical practice at Fort Cavazos. “We are fortunate to have this collaboration with a top-notch team that clearly cares about taking care of our Soldiers and families.”

Fort Cavazos is currently hosting several ongoing or newly funded clinical treatment trials through STRONG STAR, many of which offer service members and veterans access to leading-edge assessments and therapies not currently available at other military facilities.

Read the full article here

Science & Medicine: Tinnitus and PTSD

Texas Public Radio
Jun 01, 2025

Posttraumatic stress disorder and tinnitus – that constant ringing, buzzing, or whooshing sound in the ears – seem so different, but they often occur together and cause similar psychological distress.  For this episode of “Science & Medicine,” Texas Public Radio’s Bonnie Petrie speaks with John Moring, PhD, about his research efforts with STRONG STAR to better understand the relationship between these two conditions and how best to help patients alleviate symptoms and reduce related distress. Dr. Moring, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UT Health San Antonio, also shares how his personal experience with tinnitus inspires his work.

Read and/or listen to the story here

Why it’s never too late to seek help for combating PTSD

KSAT-12 News
Apr 30, 2025

In preparation for its one-hour news special on the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon that aired April 16, KSAT-12 News attended STRONG STAR and UT Health San Antonio’s 9th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference to learn more about the psychological health issues impacting veterans. In this news story that aired separately on April 30, the anniversary date, Craig Bryan, PsyD, of The Ohio State University speaks about the hope for healing from psychological wounds of war and why it’s never too late to seek help.

Watch the interview here

The obstacles that can interfere with PTSD healing

KSAT-12 News
Apr 30, 2025

In preparation for its one-hour news special on the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon that aired April 16, KSAT-12 News attended STRONG STAR and UT Health San Antonio’s 9th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference to learn more about the psychological health issues impacting veterans. In this news story that aired separately on April 30, the anniversary date, KSAT features an interview with Brittany Hall-Clark, PhD. She discusses how, in finding a path to recovery, it is important to understand obstacles that can get in the way of healing, including how those obstacles can differ for people of different races and cultures.

Watch the interview here

The future of healing from combat PTSD, with the help of artificial intelligence

KSAT-12 News Special: "50 Years After the Fall: From Saigon to San Antonio"
Apr 16, 2025

This article is part of KSAT’s special, “50 Years After The Fall: From Saigon to San Antonio,” highlighting how the war in Vietnam affected veterans in the Alamo City and South Texas. In preparation for this special, KSAT journalists attended part of the 9th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference presented in October 2024 by the STRONG STAR Consortium and UT Health San Antonio to learn about the latest advances in treating combat-related PTSD and other military psychological health conditions. In this interview, Philip Held, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center, one of the conference presenters, explains how an AI tool called “Socrates 2.0” assists in PTSD therapy.

Watch the interview

‘I needed help’: San Antonio study to use ecstasy for active-duty military members battling PTSD

KSAT-12 News
Mar 24, 2025

The stage is being set for a San Antonio research team to use MDMA, also known as ecstasy, in its study to help active-duty military members with post-traumatic stress disorder.

MDMA has been used in trials before and has some record of success. This study, specifically requested by Congress, would be more robust.

See the story on KSAT-12 News

Researchers to test psychedelic drug plus therapy to help military members with PTSD

UT Health San Antonio Newsroom
Feb 27, 2025

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 27, 2025 – Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and their collaborators at Emory University have received a $4.9 million grant aimed at significantly improving treatment and recovery rates for individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The project was recently selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Defense through a call for studies to evaluate psychedelics as a treatment for PTSD in hopes of pushing the field forward. In this effort, the innovative clinical trial will use 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine hydrochloride, or MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in combination with a leading psychotherapy for PTSD called Prolonged Exposure.

Prolonged Exposure therapy for PTSD works by helping individuals process traumatic memories and feelings while recalling them in a safe environment. The goal of the new study is to capitalize on beneficial MDMA properties in a synergistic way to enhance Prolonged Exposure’s efficacy, hopefully leading to greater symptom reductions and more patients being treated into remission.

The trial’s lead investigator is Alan Peterson, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UT Health San Antonio and director of the STRONG STAR Consortium. STRONG STAR is a national research network focused on finding the best preventions and treatments for psychological health issues affecting military members, veterans, and first responders.

“Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies have the strongest scientific support for the treatment of PTSD, but for military service members and veterans, recovery rates with these treatments seem to have maximized at about 50%,” Peterson said. “Existing medications have not shown good promise when used alone, so we’re looking at novel ways to enhance treatment outcomes so that more of our psychologically wounded warfighters have the chance of full recovery from PTSD.”

Read the full news release here

Science & Medicine: Veterans write new endings for their nightmares

Texas Public Radio
Jan 27, 2025

This episode of Texas Public Radio’s “Science & Medicine” features a sit-down with Kristi Pruiksma, PhD, a faculty member with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and research investigator with the STRONG STAR Consortium. In the discussion, Dr. Pruiksma describes how recurring nightmares can be particularly troublesome for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and how cognitive behavioral therapy for nightmares can be used to help individuals take control over their dreams. TPR’s Science & Medicine is a weekly podcast that explains how scientific discovery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio advances the way medicine is practiced around the world. It is a collaboration between TPR and UT Health San Antonio.

Read and/or listen to the story here

Study tests novel approach to PTSD treatment that helps individuals and spouses

Penn State
Nov 08, 2024

This news article by Penn State describes a STRONG STAR clinical trial led by Steffany Fredman to evaluate a novel therapy approach for PTSD and relationship issues for military and veteran couples. The trial is testing treatment delivered as part of a weekend retreat at a San Antonio hotel. Recruitment is open to couples nationwide who can travel to San Antonio for the retreat.

Read the article here

US Air Force veteran finds hope in suicide prevention therapy focusing on stress responses

KSAT-12 News
Oct 27, 2024

In this news story by KSAT-12, reporter Courtney Friedman sits down for conversations with U.S. Air Force veteran Nancy Dickinson and national suicide expert and STRONG STAR research collaborator Dr. Craig Bryan at the 9th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference. Dickinson, who shares how a non-combat role in medical operations nonetheless led to frequent combat-related exposures during deployment to Iraq, is happy to see treatment advances in military psychological health and encourages her peers to seek help as she did. Bryan discusses themes from his keynote address, including the need to adopt a paradigm shift in how we think about suicide risk and prevention. He also describes brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide and its efficacy in helping those who are at risk.

See the story on KSAT-12 News