Research

Develop and test a brief psychological intervention to enhance resilience and optimize readiness in U.S. military personnel.

Determine whether Written Exposure Therapy for Suicide reduces suicidal thoughts and behaviors and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS); determine whether reductions in PTSS severity lead to fewer suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Develop and evaluate an online training program for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares

Examine the safety, feasibility, and symptom reductions associated with cannabidiol (CBD) in military veterans receiving 2 weeks of daily treatment with Prolonged Exposure, a leading therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Evaluate potential biochemical and physiological changes associated with CBD vs. placebo and the relationship of those changes with the physiological stress response and PTSD symptom reduction.

Enhance delivery of chronic pain care in U.S. military primary care clinics by developing a manual and training program for providers in a drug-free pain management therapy that helps to reduce the use of opioid medications; evaluate the program in a pragmatic clinical trial involving patients with chronic pain.

Obtain preliminary data on the feasibility and efficacy of delivering couple-based treatment for PTSD within a multiple-couple group setting during a weekend retreat; evaluate the therapy’s impact on the severity of service members’ and veterans’ PTSD symptoms and co-occurring conditions, partners’ psychological well-being, and each partner’s relationship satisfaction.

Working with active duty military personnel who suffer from trauma-related nightmares, obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy designed for treating nightmares.

In military veterans with co-occurring PTSD and tinnitus, examine whether a leading psychotherapy for PTSD also leads to reductions in tinnitus-related distress when PTSD is treated successfully. Concurrently, evaluate brain activity before, during, and after PTSD treatment to better understand the brain network disruptions that cause and maintain PTSD and tinnitus and how those brain networks are impacted by successful PTSD treatment.

Establish a comprehensive database of clinical and biological information collected from participants in STRONG STAR clinical trials to address future questions that arise from the research of STRONG STAR investigators.

Assess the long-term impact that emergency psychiatric evacuations from combat zones have on active duty service members.