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Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Combined With Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD in Military Personnel With TBI

NCT07715799 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 150

Last updated 2026-07-20

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

In this study, the investigators are evaluating whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a brain stimulation technique, can be combined with Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a standard talk therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to improve treatment response and improve symptom of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

After consenting to be in the study, participants will be asked to complete a baseline assessment of your psychological and physical health that will determine whether you are able to participate in the study. Following the baseline, you will be randomly assigned to receive tDCS or a sham/placebo. Everyone will also participate in 5 weekly WET psychotherapy sessions for 5 consecutive weeks. The first appointment will be 90 minutes and the subsequent appointments will be 60 minutes. tDCS or sham/placebo will occur during the writing portion of the session. All participants will also be asked to complete 1-, 3-, and 6-month posttreatment follow-up assessments.

Conditions

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

DEVICE

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulator

tDCS will be administered using a Soterix 1x1 Transcranial Direct Current Stimulator. The intervention for this study will compare five, 30 minute sessions of active tDCS (2.0mA) targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) vs. a sham condition (0.0mA) for the treatment of PTSD in a sample of military personnel with mild to moderate TBI.

OTHER

Written Exposure Therapy

Participants in both treatment conditions will receive 5 weekly sessions of WET delivered as standard of care for PTSD. WET is an evidence-based, trauma-focused therapy for PTSD that is recommended by the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for PTSD that is brief and effective.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • United States Department of Defense

    collaborator FED

  • The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Casey Straud, PsyD · The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
70 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-09-30
Primary Completion
2030-05-30
Completion
2030-09-01
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07715799 on ClinicalTrials.gov