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Women Who Are Victims of Violence: Treatment of PTSD Through Reactivation of Traumatic Memories Using Propranolol

NCT07792122 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE3 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 70

Last updated 2026-08-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after life-threatening events, with domestic violence and sexual assault being major risk factors. An innovative approach using traumatic memory reactivation with propranolol has shown promise in reducing PTSD symptoms. This study aims to compare the efficacy of propranolol with trauma-focused psychotherapy in women suffering from severe PTSD after violence.

Conditions

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD

Interventions

DRUG

Propranolol

The first treatment session consists of preparing the traumatic script. Ninety minutes after taking propranolol, the preparation of the traumatic scenario will be conducted by a trained psychologist at the center. This standardized procedure (CHU de Toulouse, 2022) involves asking the patient to write a report on the most distressing aspects of the traumatic event, incorporating as many sensory modalities as possible (visual, olfactory, auditory elements, etc.) and episodic details (such as location, time, season, people present, etc.). This first session lasts approximately 30 minutes. The report will then be briefly discussed with the participant to ensure it contains sufficient detail. This "traumatic scenario" will be typed by the psychologist, resulting in a one-page script, which the subject will read during sessions 2 to 6 for memory reactivation. These five subsequent sessions last approximately 10 minutes each.

BEHAVIORAL

Psychotherapy

After randomization, participants in the "psychotherapy group" will receive PE. The eight to ten PE sessions follow classical and operant conditioning principles, emphasizing habituation. They use imaginal exposure, applied with progressivity and repetition, ensuring prolonged and complete exposure. Each session lasts 45 minutes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Toulouse

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Philippe Birmes, PHD · University Hospital, Toulouse

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-09-30
Primary Completion
2030-03-31
Completion
2030-03-31

Countries

  • France

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 NCT07792122 on ClinicalTrials.gov