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RECRUITINGINTERVENTIONAL

Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression (MERA)

Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression - MERA: A Brief Aggression Treatment for Veterans With PTSD Symptoms

Important: This information is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

About This Trial

PTSD is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions affecting Veterans who have served since 9/11. Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report difficulty controlling impulsive aggression (IA). An inability to manage one's emotions (emotion dysregulation) is an underlying mechanism of IA. Reducing IA and increasing use of PTSD evidence-based psychotherapies are two critical missions for the Veterans Health Administration. The proposed research supports these missions by comparing a 3- session emotion regulation treatment (Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression) to a control group in order to determine if MERA can reduce IA and prepare Veterans for PTSD treatment. By enhancing Veterans' abilities to cope with trauma-related emotions and feel equipped to initiate PTSD treatments, this research aims to help Veterans decrease IA and ultimately recover from PTSD.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: 1. Male and female Veterans who deployed to combat zones since 9/11. 2. Currently meets criteria for full or subthreshold PTSD, determined by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 3. Engaged in at least 3 self-reported aggressive acts (e.g., yelling, throwing objects, hitting objects/people) in the last month, measured by the Overt Aggression Scale 4. Impulsive aggression is his/her primary form of aggression, determined by the Impulsive Premeditated Aggression Scale 5. Each Veteran must allow an independent aggression rater (live-in partner, family member, or roommate above 18 years of age)\] verify the number of aggressive acts, using the Overt Aggression Scale. 6. Agreement not to change psychotropic medications through the duration of the study. Who Should NOT Join This Trial: 1. Currently suicidal with intent of self-harm in the last week. 2. Currently homicidal with plans to hurt a specific person. 3. Unable to complete self-report measures. 4. Meets diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder or psychotic disorder. 5. Had a psychotropic medication change within 4 weeks prior to the baseline assessment. Veterans receiving general mental health services or engaging in usual care will be allowed to participate. Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male and female Veterans who deployed to combat zones since 9/11. 2. Currently meets criteria for full or subthreshold PTSD, determined by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 3. Engaged in at least 3 self-reported aggressive acts (e.g., yelling, throwing objects, hitting objects/people) in the last month, measured by the Overt Aggression Scale 4. Impulsive aggression is his/her primary form of aggression, determined by the Impulsive Premeditated Aggression Scale 5. Each Veteran must allow an independent aggression rater (live-in partner, family member, or roommate above 18 years of age)\] verify the number of aggressive acts, using the Overt Aggression Scale. 6. Agreement not to change psychotropic medications through the duration of the study. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Currently suicidal with intent of self-harm in the last week. 2. Currently homicidal with plans to hurt a specific person. 3. Unable to complete self-report measures. 4. Meets diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder or psychotic disorder. 5. Had a psychotropic medication change within 4 weeks prior to the baseline assessment. Veterans receiving general mental health services or engaging in usual care will be allowed to participate.

Treatments Being Tested

BEHAVIORAL

Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression

MERA begins with education about the adaptive nature of emotions, how childhood and military experiences can influence emotion regulation, and how combat requires different emotion regulation strategies than most civilian environments. MERA use modeling and practice with feedback to teach cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based emotion regulation skills.

BEHAVIORAL

Present Centered Psychotherapy

PCT will serve as the comparison group. PCT assists Veterans in understanding and coping with current difficulties, such as aggression, but does not provide systematic training in emotion regulation skills.

Locations (2)

James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, FL
Tampa, Florida, United States
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Houston, Texas, United States