Research

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.

Identify subtypes of suicide risk; examine, describe, and predict patterns over time that signal transitions from low- to high-risk states and from high- to low-risk states, in order to advance the science of suicide prevention.

Examine the shared and unique symptoms and the neurobiological contributions associated with tinnitus and posttraumatic stress disorder. Results will help guide development of therapies for individuals with both conditions.

Improve understanding, prevention and treatment of sleep disorders in military women through discovery of the biological characteristics, gender roles, and military occupational factors associated with insomnia and sleep apnea in military men and women and how they affect treatment response and clinical outcomes.

Evaluate a program designed to increase military treatment facilities’ use of Prolonged Exposure (PE), an evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD; determine whether this program increases PE use and improves patient outcomes compared to conventional provider training in PE; use feedback from clinic leaders and staff to gauge program usability, identify successful components, and refine program for expansion.