Non-Trauma Intervention to Treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for Veterans and Service Members Suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
| PI | Cindy McGeary, PhD |
| Location(s) | Killeen, Texas |
| Aim | Develop, refine and pilot test a non-trauma intervention for PTSD tailored to military veterans and service members with TBI. |
| Status | Currently recruiting for a pilot study to test the study’s modified non-trauma treatment intervention for PTSD |
ASPIRED: Alleviating Suicidality by Combining Psychotherapy and IM Ketamine for Rapid Treatment in the Emergency Department – A Randomized Clinical Trial
| PI | Robert A. DeLorenzo, MD, MSCI, MSM, FACEP |
| Location(s) | San Antonio, TX, and Killeen, TX |
| Aim | Evaluate the efficacy intramuscular (IM) ketamine, Crisis Response Planning, a combination of the two, or IM ketamine and safety planning placebos for the rapid reduction of suicidal ideation in patients treated in an emergency department. |
| Status | Expect to start enrolling participants in Spring 2026 |
Informing the Future of Psychological Health Care in the Military: The STRONG STAR-CAP Longitudinal Outcomes Project
| PI | Alan L. Peterson, PhD, ABPP (Lt Col, US Air Force, Ret.) |
| Location(s) | San Antonio, TX |
| Aim | Leverage existing data in the STRONG STAR Repository with over 7,000 previous research participants, coupled with present-day long-term follow-up assessments with those individuals, to better understand the long-term psychological health impact, functioning, and treatment outcomes in military personnel who deployed in support of post-9/11 combat operations. |
| Status | In progress |
Executive Functions, Brain Games, and Brain Stimulation: An RCT for Mild TBI
| PI | Thomas Coyle, PhD |
| Location(s) | Killeen, Texas |
| Aim | Evaluate how effectively brain video games, brain stimulation, and the two combined improve cognitive function in military service members and veterans with mild traumatic brain injury. |
| Status | Obtaining regulatory approvals in preparation for the randomized clinical trial; study recruitment expected to begin in Winter 2025/2026 |
Combining Esketamine and Prolonged Exposure for PTSD: A Proof-of-Concept Clinical Trial
| PI | Casey Straud, PsyD, ABPP |
| Location(s) | San Antonio, Texas |
| Aim | Evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary benefit of intranasal esketamine delivered in combination with massed Prolonged Exposure as a standard of care for PTSD. |
| Status | Enrollment complete. Researchers analyzing study results. |
BRAIN Health Project 4: Prognostic Screening for Poor BRAIN Health Outcomes following rmTBI and RHI
| PI | Anthony Kontos, PhD |
| Location(s) | Fort Hood, Texas, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington |
| Aim | Identify prognostic biological and clinical markers of chronic consequences of repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) and military occupational specialty (MOS)-related repeated head injury (RHI) exposure. |
| Status | Expected to begin recruitment in Fall 2025 |
BRAIN Health Project 1: Effects of Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury BRAIN Health
| PI | Anthony Kontos, PhD |
| Location(s) | Killeen, Texas, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Aim | Improve understanding of mild traumatic brain injury and BRAIN Health by evaluating the effects of repetitive mTBI on BRAIN Health using a quantitative, multidomain clinical and blood-based biomarker assessment. |
| Status | Expected to begin recruitment in late summer/early fall 2025 |
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia vs Brief Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Military Personnel with Postconcussive Symptoms Following Mild TBI
| PI | Kristi Pruiksma, PhD |
| Location(s) | Killeen, Texas |
| Aim | Evaluate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and Brief Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (BBT-I) in an active military population suffering from insomnia after experiencing a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Determine the optimal behavioral insomnia treatment in this population; explore whether insomnia treatment improves other TBI-related symptoms; and explore if insomnia treatment improves brain functioning. |
| Status | Currently enrolling research participants |
Crisis Response Planning for Military Personnel with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
| PI | Hannah Tyler, PhD, ABPP, LPC-S & Craig Bryan, PhD, ABPP |
| Location(s) | Killeen, Texas |
| Aim | Evaluate the efficacy of Crisis Response Planning as a secondary suicide prevention intervention compared with Treatment as Usual among military service members who are at elevated risk for suicide due to their history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). |
| Status | Study enrollment expected to begin in Summer 2025 |
Augmenting Massed Cognitive Processing Therapy to Prevent Suicide Risk Among Patients With PTSD
| PI | Craig Bryan, PsyD, ABPP |
| Location(s) | Killeen, Texas |
| Aim | Determine if the addition of Crisis Response Planning to massed Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD reduces suicide attempts among military personnel with diagnosed or subthreshold PTSD and suicide ideation; identify early markers of treatment response and relapse of suicide risk; and identify treatment content and design features that influence treatment effectiveness and acceptability. |
| Status | Study enrollment expected to begin in Summer 2025 |

